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[[Image:Casino 1.jpg|thumb|center|800px|A fool and his money....]]

[[Image:Casino 1.jpg|thumb|center|800px|A fool and his money....]]

'''Las Vegas''' is the largest city in [[Nevada]], famous for its casinos, [[gambling]], high profile entertainment, and prostitution.  It is nicknamed "Sin City". The [[Recession of 2008]] hit hard, as tourism fell off sharply and several multibillion-dollar casino complexes planned in good times opened to face bankruptcy.

'''Las Vegas''' is the largest city in [[Nevada]], famous for its casinos, [[gambling]], high-profile entertainment, and prostitution.  It is nicknamed "Sin City". The [[Recession of 2008]] hit hard, as tourism fell off sharply and several multibillion-dollar casino complexes planned in good times opened to face bankruptcy.

[[Image:Casino 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Gaming everywhere]]

[[Image:Casino 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Gaming everywhere]]

It remained a small settlement until [[Bugsy Siegel]] built the first casinos there in 1946 and it became a hotbed for Mafia operations. Now it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the USA and most of the gambling is controlled by entertainment conglomerates.  Half the revenue of the city is procured directly from money people lose gambling.

It remained a small settlement until [[Bugsy Siegel]] built the first casinos there in 1946 and it became a hotbed for Mafia operations. Now it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the USA and most of the gambling is controlled by entertainment conglomerates.  Half the revenue of the city is procured directly from money people lose gambling.

The [[Chamber of Commerce]] is a local private organization that supports civic activism and economic growth in the community. Its members are local businesses and not-for profit organizations (such as hospitals and universities).  It represents "[[Main Street]]" (that is, locally owned businesses, but also includes branches of national chains.

The [[Chamber of Commerce]] is a local private organization that supports civic activism and economic growth in the community. Its members are local businesses and not-for profit organizations (such as hospitals and universities).  It represents "[[Main Street]]" (that is, locally owned businesses) but also includes branches of national chains.

Sin is a big draw for men.  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce energetically promoted tourism in the 1930s, following the completion of Hoover Dam. They featured an image of Las Vegas as a 'last frontier.' Advertising brochures, newspaper publicity, and motion pictures celebrated Las Vegas for its hospitality, legal gambling, easy divorce laws, and local naughty attractions. It worked, as shown by the increasing number of tourists and visitors in the late 1930s. Completion of the El Rancho Vegas resort casino in 1941 foreshadowed the postwar boom in resort hotels.<ref>Larry Gragg, "Selling 'Sin City': Successfully Promoting Las Vegas During the Great Depression, 1935-1941," ''Nevada Historical Society Quarterly'' 2006 49(2): 83-106,</ref>

Sin is a big draw for men.  The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce energetically promoted tourism in the 1930s, following the completion of Hoover Dam. They featured an image of Las Vegas as a 'last frontier.' Advertising brochures, newspaper publicity, and motion pictures celebrated Las Vegas for its hospitality, legal gambling, easy divorce laws, and local naughty attractions. It worked, as shown by the increasing number of tourists and visitors in the late 1930s. Completion of the El Rancho Vegas resort casino in 1941 foreshadowed the postwar boom in resort hotels.<ref>Larry Gragg, "Selling 'Sin City': Successfully Promoting Las Vegas During the Great Depression, 1935-1941," ''Nevada Historical Society Quarterly'' 2006 49(2): 83-106,</ref>