Construction is strong. New strip casinos take years to build and employ thousands of workers. The same could be said of the housing boom with new home sales around 15,000 units in 2004. With the introduction of Turnburry Towers several years ago, developers discovered that the was a large demand for high end condominiums. At the end of 2004, it was estimated that as many as 80 major condominiums were in various stages of development.
Heavy concentrations of casinos in the United States are in Las Vegas, Nevada, Reno, Nevada, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. There are also numerous casinos throughout the country owned by Native American tribes.
While everyone knows what the valley is, it is not defined anywhere. The western edge is formed by the Spring Mountains. The northern boundary is the Sheep Mountains. On the east is Frenchman's Mountain, locally know as Sunrise Mountain, some adjoining mountains are capped by Vishnu Schist rock, which is some of the oldest on the earth having been created about 2 billion years ago. The Southern edge of the valley are the hills running west from Black Mountain.
As a reflection of the city's rapid growing population, the new Chinatown of Las Vegas was constructed in the early 1990s on Spring Mountain Road. Chinatown initially consisted of only one large shopping center complex but the area was recently expanded for new shopping centers that contain various Asian businesses.
The county is working to control these problems and has shown some success over the years. The constant tightening of Federal requirements for allowable particles in the air, make the task of meeting air quality standards difficult.
First settled in 1854 by Mormon farmers, Las Vegas already had been named by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party who watered there while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. At that time, some low areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian springs which created extensive green areas in contrast to the surrounding desert, hence the name Las Vegas, Spanish for "The Fertile Valleys."
Over the past few years, retirees have been moving to the valley driving businesses that support them, from housing to health care.
Incorporated in 1911, and with gambling legalized in 1931, Las Vegas started its rise to world fame in 1941, when developers began building large hotels incorporating gambling casinos. Several such early enterprises are widely reputed to have been backed by money from crime syndicates based in the eastern United States. Gangsters Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky are widely credited as the organizers and prime movers behind early development of Las Vegas. Ever since then, Las Vegas has been a mecca of gambling.
The resort was originally intended to attract families with children. It included a large video arcade and featured staged pirate battles nightly in "Buccaneer Bay" in front of the casino. In 2003, however, it largely abandoned the pirate theme, as part of a decision to focus on young adults. The arcade was closed. The famous skull-and-crossbones sign at the Strip entrance was replaced by one reading simply "ti". In lieu of the pirate battle, the newly renamed "Sirens' Cove" is now the site of "The Sirens of TI". This free show is designed to appeal more to adults by including singing, dancing and attractive women, all of which were absent from the original show.
The City of Las Vegas government operates as a council-manager government. The Mayor sits as a Councilmember-At-Large and presides over all of the City Council meetings. In the event that the Mayor cannot preside over a City Council meeting the Mayor Pro-Tem is the presiding body of the meeting until such time as the Mayor returns to his seat.