Mafia bosses like Bugsy Siegel helped transform Las Vegas into one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Money from drugs and racketeering built the first of many casinos.

The allure of profits in these vices soon attracted East Coast organized crime. Freedoms of the Old West like gambling and prostitution drew visitors and travelers from far and near. Gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, and it didn’t take long for word to get out that Vegas’ greatest asset was not its artesian wells, but its casinos. Las Vegas’ population swelled from 5,000 to 25,000, primarily workers hired to build the dam. In 1931, construction started on the Boulder Dam, later renamed Hoover Dam during President Truman’s administration. From the very start these amazingly colorful signs literally stopped Los Angeles traffic in its tracks lighting up the night much to the delight of awestruck drivers and pedestrians alike. Soon after, brightly lit neon signs were capturing the nation’s imagination. As a result, Las Vegas became a well-known water stop, first for wagon trains and later railroads along the trail between Los Angeles, California, and points east such as Albuquerque, New Mexico.Īnd it was in Los Angeles in 1923 that neon was introduced to the United States by Earl Anthony at his Packard Dealership. In Spanish, Las Vegas translates to “the meadows”.īy the early 20th century, water from these artesian wells was being piped into town. The flows from these wells fed the Las Vegas Wash which runs to the Colorado River.

At the future site of Nevada’s largest city, Rivera discovered fresh water artesian wells surrounded by verdant green valleys. A member of the Antonio Armijo trading party traveling to Los Angeles along the Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico, Rivera and his compatriots were looking for a watering hole. The city traces its name and its roots to a Mexican scout, Raphael Rivera. At its founding, Las Vegas was more of an oasis. Even today, as people close their eyes and think of Las Vegas, nothing comes to mind more often than those magnificent, pulsing multi-colored neon signs in the middle of the desert that beckoned travelers and guests to fabulous Las Vegas. But, no more than in the days of the Rat Pack, Liberace and Elvis, when millions of visitors flocked to a booming Las Vegas – often referred to as “Glitter Gulch” in its heyday. Las Vegas has always oozed glitz and glamour with its multitude of casinos, top entertainers and high rollers.

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