Las Vegas

Las Vegas (, Spanish for "The Meadows"; ), officially the City of Las Vegas and often known simply as Vegas, is the 28th-most populated city in the United States, the most populated city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.

The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its mega casino–hotels and associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations. The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, and music videos.

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated American city founded within that century (a similar distinction earned by Chicago in the 1800s). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85.2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century, and according to a 2017 estimate, the population is 648,224 with a regional population of 2,248,390.

Las Vegas is often use to describe the areas that are very near to Las Vegas Strip.

History
With the opening of Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn and Encore resorts, the strip trended towards the luxurious high end segment through most of the 2000s, while some older resorts added major expansions and renovations, including some de-theming of the earlier themed hotels. High end dining, specialty retail, spas and nightclubs increasingly became options for visitors in addition to gambling at most Strip resorts. There was also a trend towards expensive residential condo units on the strip.

In 2004, MGM Mirage announced plans for CityCenter, a 66-acre (27 ha), $7 billion multi-use project on the site of the Boardwalk hotel and adjoining land. It consists of hotel, casino, condo, retail, art, business and other uses on the site. City Center is currently the largest such complex in the world. Construction began in April 2006, with most elements of the project opened in late 2009. Also in 2006, the Las Vegas Strip lost its longtime status as the world's highest-grossing gambling center, falling to second place behind Macau.

In 2012, the High Roller Ferris wheel and a retail district called The LINQ Promenade broke ground, in an attempt to diversify attractions beyond that of casino resorts. Renovations and rebrandings such as The Cromwell Las Vegas and the SLS Las Vegas continued to transform The Strip in 2014. The Las Vegas Festival Grounds opened in 2015. In 2016, the T-Mobile Arena, The Park, the Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino, and the Park Theatre opened. Smaller changes and developments are taking place as well.

On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred on the Strip at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, adjacent to the Mandalay Bay hotel. This incident became the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history.

Transportation
RTC Transit is a public transportation system providing bus service throughout Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and other areas of the valley. Inter-city bus service to and from Las Vegas is provided by Greyhound, BoltBus, Orange Belt Stages, Tufesa, and several smaller carriers. Amtrak trains have not served Las Vegas since the service via the Desert Wind was discontinued in 1997. Though no Amtrak trains have served Las Vegas since the Desert Wind was cancelled in 1997, Amtrak California operates Thruway Motorcoach dedicated service between the city and its passenger rail stations in Bakersfield, California, as well as Los Angeles Union Station via Barstow.

A bus rapid-transit link in Las Vegas called the Strip & Downtown Express (previously ACE Gold Line ) with limited stops and frequent service was launched in March 2010, and connects downtown Las Vegas, the Strip and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

With some exceptions, including Las Vegas Boulevard, Boulder Highway (SR 582) and Rancho Drive (SR 599), the majority of surface streets in Las Vegas are laid out in a grid along Public Land Survey System section lines. Many are maintained by the Nevada Department of Transportation as state highways. The street numbering system is divided by the following streets:


 * Westcliff Drive, US 95 Expressway, Fremont Street and Charleston Boulevard divide the north–south block numbers from west to east.
 * Las Vegas Boulevard divides the east–west streets from the Las Vegas Strip to near the Stratosphere, then Main Street becomes the dividing line from the Stratosphere to the North Las Vegas border, after which the Goldfield Street alignment divides east and west.
 * On the east side of Las Vegas, block numbers between Charleston Boulevard and Washington Avenue are different along Nellis Boulevard, which is the eastern border of the city limits.

Interstates 15, 515, and US 95 lead out of the city in four directions. Two major freeways – Interstate 15 and Interstate 515/U.S. Route 95 – cross in downtown Las Vegas. I-15 connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and heads northeast to and beyond Salt Lake City. I-515 goes southeast to Henderson, beyond which US 93 continues over the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge towards Phoenix, Arizona. US 95 connects the city to northwestern Nevada, including Carson City and Reno. US 93 splits from I-15 northeast of Las Vegas and goes north through the eastern part of the state, serving Ely and Wells. US 95 heads south from US 93 near Henderson through far eastern California. A partial beltway has been built, consisting of Interstate 215 on the south and Clark County 215 on the west and north. Other radial routes include Blue Diamond Road (SR 160) to Pahrump and Lake Mead Boulevard (SR 147) to Lake Mead.


 * East–west roads, north to south


 * Ann Road
 * Nevada 573.svg Craig Road (SR 573)
 * Nevada 574.svg Cheyenne Avenue (SR 574)
 * Smoke Ranch Road
 * Nevada 578.svg Washington Avenue (SR 578)
 * Summerlin Parkway
 * Nevada 579.svg Bonanza Road (SR 579)
 * Nevada 159.svg Charleston Boulevard (SR 159)
 * Nevada 589.svg Sahara Avenue (SR 589)


 * North–south roads, west to east


 * Fort Apache Road
 * Durango Drive
 * Buffalo Drive
 * Nevada 595.svg Rainbow Boulevard (SR 595)
 * Nevada 596.svg Jones Boulevard (SR 596)
 * Decatur Boulevard
 * Valley View Boulevard
 * Nevada 599.svg Rancho Drive
 * Maryland Parkway
 * Nevada 607.svg Eastern Avenue (SR 607)
 * Pecos Road
 * Nevada 610.svg Lamb Boulevard (SR 610)
 * Nevada 612.svg Nellis Boulevard (SR 612)

McCarran International Airport handles international and domestic flights into the Las Vegas Valley. The airport also serves private aircraft and freight/cargo flights. Most general aviation traffic uses the smaller North Las Vegas Airport and Henderson Executive Airport.

The Union Pacific Railroad is the only Class I railroad providing rail freight service to the city. Until 1997, the Amtrak Desert Wind train service ran through Las Vegas using the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

Hotels and Casinos

 * Stratosphere Tower
 * Las Vegas Hilton
 * Harrah’s/Imperial Palace
 * Flamingo/Caesars Palace
 * Bally’s & Paris (not Balley's Liquor)
 * MGM Grand
 * Sahara Las Vegas (not Sahara Desert)

Future Developments

 * The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino will undergo a two-year, $450 million makeover into the Park MGM to be completed by end of 2018.
 * Phase one of the Wynn Paradise Park with a 1,500 room hotel tower, lagoon and beach amenities is expected to be completed by early 2019.
 * The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has been bought and will be redeveloped as the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas by late fall 2019.
 * Construction of the Las Vegas Stadium began in September 2017 and is expected to be completed in time for the 2020 NFL season.
 * Construction of the All Net Resort and Arena is expected to be completed by spring 2020.
 * Genting Group bought the site of the Stardust in 2013 with plans to build and open Resorts World Las Vegas in 2020.
 * Las Vegas Sands and Madison Square Garden Company plan to build an arena behind The Palazzo and The Venetian by late 2020.
 * The Drew Las Vegas will be turned into a 4,000 room resort and casino by late 2020.
 * Wynn Resorts bought the site of the New Frontier in December 2017 and announced plans for a 2,000+ room resort tentatively named Wynn West.
 * Between Q2 2018 and summer 2021, $140M will be invested in upgrading the Stratosphere.
 * The unfinished Skyvue ferris wheel is for sale, as is the land of the former La Concha Motel.