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So, you've discovered pp3 guide to the world - congratulations, tell all your friends,
stay a while, buy some stuff.....
Seriously though, whilst to many Las Vegas could be seen as simply a home for some of the most
carnal of human pursuits, there is a great deal more to the city in general, and the casinos in
particular than simply booze, gambling and prostitution!
I'm not claiming to be the ultimate expert, nor can I guarantee the complete accuracy of
the following, so if you find an obvious error, e-mail me at
ben@guidetotheworld.net and I'll fix it. There, you can't
get much fairer than that can you?
Anyway, in no particular order, click on the following links (or just read the whole page!)....
Just what is the pp3 guide to Las Vegas?
The pp3 History of Las Vegas
So, why should I go to Las Vegas anyway?
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Just what is the pp3 guide to Las Vegas?
OK, so there are hundreds of sites that feature Las Vegas, so how is PP3 different? Well for starters
there's the pictures. Almost every web site on Las Vegas I've seen is almost entirely text based. I admit
that if you're trying to book a hotel room, knowing the phone number, the features in the hotel, the number
of rooms etc is important, but surely it would be nice if you could actually see what the place looks
like?
So, that was the first thought. Then it was a case of offering a slightly different spin on the usual
Travel Agent style of travel guide. Clearly as a Travel Agent, the aim is to sell trips to the place you're
talking about, and therefore you need to be as upbeat about a place as you can. At pp3 if I don't like
a place I say so. This might (and I dare say if enough people visited almost certainly would) wind up whoever it
is I dislike (mentionning no names MGM Grand) but then they're still getting free publicity....
And that in a nutshell is it. You get photos of the outside of the Casinos (and where I've managed to get them,
the insides too.) You get links to the official Casino websites, phone numbers for reservations, maps of the local
vicinity, my own personal guide to each of the Casino's - and the opportunity to ask why there still isn't a page
for the Rio (I'm working on it!) Other than that, use the links to amazon.com and
amazon.co.uk and buy some stuff - well
I have to fund pp3 somehow, and please tell some more people to visit!
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The pp3 History of Las Vegas
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| 1830 |
Rafael Rivera, a scout travelling with a party
of 60 under Mexican trader Antonio Armijo discovered a fresh-water spring now known as
Las Vegas Springs. Evidence since found at the site indicates
that it has been used by Man for over 2000 years.
Rivers's discovery significantly eased the route west to California (known as the Spanish Trail) and so Las Vegas
(Spanish for The Meadows) became a frequent stopover point.
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| 1844 |
John C. Fremont, a Captain with the US Military
completey circled the Great Basin mapping the Spanish Trail in the process. After 1848 when the US took control
of the area from Mexico, the section of the Spanish Trail linking Utah and Los Angeles became all the more
important.
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| 1855 |
With the permanent establishment of the trail to the
coast in 1855 Mormon settlers from Utah built what is now known as the
Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort (parts of which can still be seen near
the junction of Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington Avenue.) The original building was abandoned in 1858 as the Mormons
were called back to Utah for their own safety.
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| 1864 |
Nevada became the 36th State of the United States -
only 3 years after its creation as a United States Territory, and well before its population met the criteria
that should have allowed it join the Union. Both creation of the Territy, and admission to the US occured during
the Civil War for political purposes.
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| 1867 |
A permanent settlement was finally founded in 1867 -
initially using the old Mormon Fort. Octavius Gass became the first land owner, founding the Las Vegas Rancho
which he owned (gradually increasing his importance) until 1882 when ownership was passed to the Stewart family (with
whom Gass held a mortgage.)
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| 1904 |
The railroad arrived in Las Vegas Springs, and for the first time
water was pumped from the spring to the developing township.
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| 1905 |
With the completion of the railroad Las Vegas was officially founded
on May 15th. The Union Pacific Railroad auctionned over 1000 lots in the area surrounding what would be known as Freemont Street.
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| 1910 |
Finally falling in-line with the rest of the USA, Nevada outlawed
gambling of any form. Whilst this ban offically lasted until 1931, illegal gambling was common-place.
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| 1931 |
In the middle of the Great Depression, gambling was legalised in
Nevada in 1931. Initially aimed at raising revenue for education, tax revenues from gambling today account for around 45 percent
of state funding. The same year building of the Hoover Dam started, creating a huge influx of people (and therefore money) into
the Las Vegas area - and effectively protecting Las Vegas from the effects of the Great Depression
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| 1941 |
Although long since gone (burnt to the ground in fact in 1960), the
first casino on Las Vegas Boulevard, El Rancho, opened this year. El Rancho could be credited with the creation of the now famous
Strip.
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| 1946 |
The Flamingo opened on the 31st of
December. One of the only casinos of this era to survive to today (albeit in name only - none of the original buildings survive)
the Flamingo was built by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel - perhaps the most notorious of the connections Las Vegas has had with the mob.
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| 1950 |
Desert Inn opened.
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| 1952 |
The Sahara, and Sands (now replaced by The
Venetian) opened.
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| 1955 |
The Riviera - featuring the first 'tower' in Las Vegas - a huge 9
stories, opened.
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| 1956 |
The Hacienda (now re-born as Mandalay
Bay) opened.
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| 1957 |
Tropicana opened.
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| 1966 |
Caesar's Palace - perhaps the most famous
of all Las Vegas' casinos - opened
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| 1968 |
The first Casino to specifically target the family -
Circus Circus opened. A hotel was added in 1972.
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| 1973 |
The Casino now known as Ballys opened as
the MGM Grand.
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| 1989 |
Heralding the dawn of the 'mega-resort' and also setting the scene
for the tightly-integrated themes that a Casino must have today if it wants to attract business, The Mirage
opened its doors at a cost of only $430 million! The Mirage Resorts Group - and owner Steve Wynn - would eventually have three of the most interesting of
all of the Strip casinos - The Mirage, Treasure Island, and the truly astounding
Bellagio, before selling the whole company to the MGM Grand group in 2000.
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| 1990 |
Excalibur, the second outing for Circus Circus
opened. Excalibur features a strong theme based around Arthurian Legends.
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| 1993 |
Hardly pausing for breath, Circus Circus opened Luxor
- a 36-story replica of the Great Pyramids of Egypt - and one of the most amazing buildings in the World. Luxor also features the most powerful
light in the world, and an atrium that would hold 9 Boeing 747 jets stacked on top of each other! Also opened this year was
Treasure Island, the second of Steve Wynn's Mirage resorts, which whilst not out-doing Luxor in wow-factor
certainly did in execution of its theme! Oh yes, and finally this year, the MGM Grand opened its doors - all 5,005 of them -
making it the largest hotel in the World.
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| 1995 |
Hard Rock Hotel, the first Casino based on a Café? opened.
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| 1996 |
This was the second 'glut' year for The Strip featuring the opening of:
New York New York - a casino modelled on a whole city (which actually opened on Jan 3rd 1997 but who's counting?), Monte Carlo - a casino themed after the classic
European casinos of Monte Carlo (funny that!) and Stratosphere - a casino that went bankrupt whilst featuring one of the tallest
buildings in the US.
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| 1998 |
The most gorgeous Casino ever - Bellagio opened, featuring
unprecedented luxury and an astounding sound, light and fountain display. (Oh yes, it's a Mirage resort - so what did you expect!)
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| 1999 |
Yet another glut year with another three new mega-resorts: Mandalay Bay,
The Venetian and Paris opened.
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| 2000 |
MGM Grand acquired Mirage Resorts, and as such now control 5 of the biggest resorts in the world: Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mirage, New York New York and Treasure Island. The first Casino of the new millennium, the all new Aladdin opens in August.
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| 2001? |
Well it's all gone a little quiet. Caesar's Palace is currently re-fitting it's older towers (to look more like the new one), and The Stratosphere has finally re-started the construction of it's second tower, but other than that there are no new projects under development on the strip. This can only be a temporary situation though.......
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Why go to Las Vegas anyway?
Of course, the question you might well be asking is, I'm not a gambling person, so why on earth would I want to
visit Las Vegas? 15 years ago this would have been a valid question, but since the arrival of
The Mirage in 1989 the 'mega-resort' has become the norm in Las Vegas.
Whilst there is no strict definition for 'mega-resort', a rough guide would be a hotel consisting of over 2500 rooms,
a massive casino with thousands of slot machines, video poker machines, and a huge range of table games. Add to this
anything up to 20 restaurants, a swimming complex that virtually makes a water-park look redundant and more facilities
than you could shake a stick at, and you're coming close to understanding.
Then of course you've got the theme. A 'mega-resort' in Las Vegas can't simply be a big hotel with a casino, it needs
a theme that is carried out to perfection throughout the resort. In most cities one such resort would be a big deal, in
Las Vegas there are dozens!!
Of course, there's only so much that words can say - just check out the photo's on the rest of the Las Vegas pages, and
you'll begin to get an idea of what Las Vegas is all about. It's non-stop entertainment - literally anything you want to
do at any time of the day or night. Get there soon and see for yourself!!!
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