In 1829, a young scout happened upon a valley with wild grasses and abundant water in what is now Nevada. He named the valley Las Vegas, Spanish for "The Meadows". In the 1850's, members of the Mormon Church chose Las Vegas as the site of a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Remains of the fort can still be seen today. The population grew with the discovery of precious minerals in the late 1800's, and the city was incorporated in 1905 with a population of 800.
In 1931, two events initiated Las Vegas' evolution into the city it is today. First, construction began on the Hoover Dam. Second, gambling was legalized.
Following WWII, resort and gambling hotels featuring top-name entertainment were introduced, and the tourism industry became the city's largest economic force. The most famous was the Flamingo Hotel, built by mobster "Bugsy" Siegel on what would come to be known as the Las Vegas Strip.
By 1960, the population of Las Vegas had grown to 65,000, comprising more than 22% of Nevada's total population. Tycoons like Howard Hughes saw the profitability of investing in the area, turning gambling into the more accepted "gaming" business. Other large corporations followed suit, and the Nevada Gaming Commission was formed by the State Legislature.
From 1985 to 1995, Las Vegas saw unprecedented growth as the population more than doubled in less than a decade. Today the population is estimated at 550,000 over a land area of 113 square miles. It has 799 acres of parks, over 500 churches and synagogues, 7 television stations and 12 radio stations. It is the largest U.S. metro area founded in the twentieth century, and the 29th largest metro area in the nation overall.
Tourism and the convention industry are collectively the largest employers in the area, but the largest single employer is the Clark County School District. Many technology companies have settled in the area. Residents enjoy the influx of tourism money, which pays for many of the city- and state-run services. Residents pay no city or state income tax.
Development of the "strip" area, as well as surrounding areas, continues today. In 2004, Renaissance Las Vegas opened "off the strip" and adjacent to the Convention Center on Paradise Road. Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005 as the most expensive casino resort in town, costing 2.7 billion, and the famous Ceasar's Palace completed an expansion in the same year, bringing their room total to 33,000.
Summerlin, a master-planned community along the west rim of the Las Vegas Valley, is the fastest growing community in the country. It covers 22,500 acres, has schools, parks and golf courses and will be in development until 2020. Other residential growth areas include Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City.
In addition to the resort and casinos throughout the city, there are other popular tourist attractions nearby, including Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (the largest man-made lake in the U.S.), Lake Mojave, the Mt. Charleston Recreation Area, Red Rock Canyon, and Death Valley. Las Vegas is also home to the Liberace Museum and Guinness Book of World Records Museum.