Las Vegas
| Las Vegas | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | ||
| City of Las Vegas | ||
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||
 Location of the city of Las Vegas within Clark County, Nevada |
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| Coordinates: 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W / 36.175°N 115.13639°WCoordinates: 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W / 36.175°N 115.13639°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| States | Nevada | |
| Settled | May 15, 1905 | |
| Incorporated (city) | March 16, 1911 | |
| County seats | Clark | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • City | 596,424 | |
| • Urban | 1,314,356 | |
| (30th most in the U.S.) | ||
| Website | www.lasvegasnevada.gov | |
Las Vegas is a city in the American state of Nevada. There were 567,641 people living in the city in 2009. It is the biggest city in Nevada. Las Vegas is also the county seat of Clark County.
History[change | change source]
Native Americans, the Paiute tribe, first lived there. It was called Las Vegas by Spanish people. The name means The Meadows in the Spanish language. It had a lot of these in 1854. The city is known for its dry weather, as is the rest of southern Nevada. It is surrounded by deserts.
The US Army built Fort Baker there in 1864. Las Vegas has springs so people used to stop there for water when they were going to Los Angeles or other places in California.
In 1905, 110 acres owned by William A. Clark, on which he built a railroad to Southern California were auctioned and Las Vegas was founded as a railroad town. Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911.
Culture[change | change source]
Las Vegas, is also known by a shorter name, Vegas. The city has become well known for its lax laws for drinking and gambling. Gambling was made legal in the state of Nevada in 1931. In 1941, many hotels were built in Las Vegas with casinos in them. Las Vegas is sometimes called "Sin City" because so many people come to the city for gambling and drinking alcohol, two common "sins". The adage is "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". People come to Las Vegas for vacation, many hotels have different themes and have shows and events to get people to come there. Because of this, Las Vegas has been called "The Entertainment Capital of the World".
Las Vegas is also well known due to the casinos (an establishment where gambling games are played) many of which are decorated with various bright colours. Some of the most famous casinos include Caesars Palace, a Roman Empire themed casino, Bellagio, a Bellagio, Italy themed casino, Paris Las Vegas, a Paris themed casino, Monte Carlo Las Vegas, a Monte Carlo, Monaco themed casino, and New York New York, a New York City themed casino. Downtown Las Vegas is in the city of Las Vegas, but the Las Vegas Strip is not. It is mostly in Paradise, Nevada, with a smaller part in Winchester, Nevada.
Other websites[change | change source]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Las Vegas |
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