Short History Of... - Las Vegas

Episode Date: January 9, 2023

Best known for its world-class casinos and lavish hotels, the desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada has a darker side, too. For decades, connections to organised crime tarnished its reputation. Now, Las Vegas attracts tens of millions of tourists every year, many of whom come to gamble. But did games of chance really drive the transformation of this small, dusty desert town? And will it ever shed its persistent nickname of Sin City? This is a Short History Of Las Vegas. Written by Emma Christie. With thanks to Dr Michael Green, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada and Las Vegas. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is nearly 11 p.m. on June the 20th, 1947. A cool breeze creeps down the tree-lined streets of Hollywood's Beverly Hills. Bright stars dot the dark sky, and crickets call to each other, breaking the silence of the night. This is a new city, created to house the rich, the famous, and the infamous. The elaborate homes lining North Linden Drive are set back from the road. Most have gardens out front. Few have walls or gates, because these homes were built to be seen and admired. A man, dressed in dark clothes, moves towards a lavish pink mansion fronted by a well-tended lawn.

A semi-automatic rifle is slung over his shoulder. It's lightweight and easy to handle, the standard firearm for American soldiers in the Second World War. But tonight it'll be used against a different kind of enemy. Ahead of the gunman, headlights swing around the corner. He instinctively ducks down behind a parked car. Hot, thundering, he waits for the vehicle to pass, then closes in on the house. Palm trees cast shadows on the walls, their wide fronds rustling in the dark, covering the sound of his footsteps. Much of the extravagant property is in darkness, but to the right of the front door, four tall windows are lit up.

He hears voices, laughter. The house is leased to a woman who's currently in Paris, but he needs to confirm that it's her boyfriend who's at home. The gunman peers through the glass. Inside, there are three men in a lavish sitting room. It's like a museum in there, full of lamps, vases, statues, paintings in gold frames. There's even a grand piano. And next to that, on a wide sofa, is the man he's looking for, wearing an expensive suit and shiny shoes. He's reading a copy of the Los Angeles Times.

The gunman smiles. If tonight goes to plan, this story will be on the front pages tomorrow. Retreating, he takes up his position. He rests the barrel of the gun on a garden pagoda, then lowers his eye. Steadying himself with a breath, he squeezes the trigger. Nine shots pass through the window. Two hit the victim in the torso, two more hit his head. He slumps to one side, bleeding heavily.

A stray bullet destroys a statue of Bacchus, god of wine and pleasure. Others leave pockmarks in the wall. Outside, the gunman quickly and quietly packs up his weapon and leaves, his job complete. When emergency services arrive, it's clear nothing can be done. Detectives find one of the victim's eyeballs, 15 feet feet away on the tiled floor of the dining room. The man is quickly identified as 41-year-old Benjamin Siegel, known as Bugsy, murdered just six months after opening his extravagant Flamingo Hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas. Best known for its world-class casinos, the desert city of Las Vegas, Nevada, is littered with iconic sights.

Lit by millions of brightly colored bulbs, it boasts lavish hotels, cutting-edge restaurants, and top-class entertainment. Some of the biggest names in the history of show business are inextricably linked to Vegas. Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe. But there's a darker side, too. For decades, proven connections to organized crime tarnished its reputation. But for many, Vice was, and remains, part of the appeal. Less than 120 years after its official establishment as a city, Las Vegas attracts tens of millions of tourists every year. Many are here to gamble. But did games of chance really drive the transformation of this small, dusty desert town?

What other forces lie behind its seemingly endless growth? And will it ever shed its persistent nickname of Sin City? I'm John Hopkins, and this is a short history of Las Vegas. The story of Las Vegas starts long before the days of casinos and organized crime. In 1776, 12 Northeast American colonies declare independence from Britain and create the United States of America. Much of the land to the south and west is controlled by the Spanish Empire, but occupied by numerous Native American tribes. One of these is the Paiute. They are experts at finding hidden streams and springs, so much so that their word for water, hut, forms part of their tribal name.

And out in the arid landscape of modern-day Nevada, 300 miles inland from the California coast, water is no small challenge. The Paiute people are nomads, living in groups of three to five families in temporary brush shelters. They hunt and gather in accordance with the seasons. Some build small reservoirs and irrigation channels to water vegetables like corn, squash, and beans. Their simple lifestyle has changed little since the days of their ancestors, the Tudinu, or desert people, who've lived alongside the Colorado River since at least 1100 AD. people, who have lived alongside the Colorado River since at least 1100 AD. But after 700 years of relative peace and calm, change is coming. In the 1770s, Spanish-born priests en route to California are the first Europeans to encounter

the Paiute. Visitors become more frequent after 1821, when Mexico gains independence from Spain. When the first Mexican empire is established, stretching from California to Panama, many seize the opportunity to carve out paths. The old Spanish Trail covers 2,700 miles, connecting Los Angeles to an established trading post at Santa Fe, in what's now New Mexico. But along the way, it crosses Paiute territory. Now the tribe are sharing their land with trappers, working in the burgeoning fur industry, settlers looking for a better life, and merchants hoping to establish new trade routes.

It is almost Christmas, 1829. The rising sun reveals a makeshift camp in the Nevada desert, big enough for 60 men. Horses stomp their hooves on the dusty ground. One by one, the travelers wake and get started on the same duties they've had for the past six weeks. Some light fires, others load their cargo of blankets onto the backs of their hundred or so donkeys, ready to be traded. As dawn turns to day, the men wearily climb back into leather saddles and set off, sending up clouds of dust. Among the group is a young Mexican called Rafael Rivera.

He straightens his wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off his face as he rides, proud to be part of the first group to attempt traveling the full 2,700 miles in one continuous journey. They're maybe halfway there, but it could take another six weeks to reach Los Angeles, 90 days in total. And once they arrive, they'll trade the blankets for mules, then turn around and make the same long and treacherous journey back, unless someone finds a better shorter route and that's exactly why rafael is here as a scout it's his job to find new routes on the old trail though he's not as experienced to some of the other men he's younger and he's determined to impress the group leader, the Spaniard Antonio Amijo, who's willing to let Rafael roam uncharted territory. Now, after a few hours riding, a scouting party leaves the main group to search for water. They head west. For a while, Rafael rides with them, but then he announces that he's going to search on his own.

that he's going to search on his own. The older men tease him with tales of pioneers being ripped to pieces by wild animals, ambushed by thieves, or caught between warring tribes, but he won't be deterred. He jerks his reins and heads alone into an unexplored valley. His tired horse's hooves are the only sound except the occasional call of vultures that circle overhead. Sometimes they fly so low he can hear the whoosh of their outstretched wings in the hot, still air. The sun beats down. He pauses to drink the last few drops from his water tin, praying he'll find more soon. Then, suddenly, he sees something on the horizon. Greenery, pushing up through the desert floor. Are his weary eyes playing tricks on his brain?

He rides faster now, and soon he's there, sliding out of the saddle and approaching the spot on foot. It's real, verdant vegetation. And amid it all, a bubbling stream. He drops to his knees and laughs out loud, before scooping clean water into his mouth. He decides on a name for this magical place. He'll call it The Meadows, or, in his native Spanish, Las Vegas. Word travels quickly. Rafael Rivera's route past the natural springs is hailed a vital link on the old Spanish trail. It's exactly what Antonio Amijo was hoping to find,

a more direct way with a reliable water source. It soon becomes an essential stop for trappers, traders, hoping to find, a more direct way with a reliable water source. It soon becomes an essential stop for trappers, traders, and merchants on the road to Los Angeles. And it's not long before officials from the US government make their way to Las Vegas Springs. Dr. Michael Green is an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada and Las Vegas. Dr. Michael Green, University of Nevada at the University of Nevada and Las Vegas.

Water really starts Las Vegas. This area had an underground water supply, an aquifer as it's called. And the first American explorer representing the federal government to come through here was John C. Fremont in 1844. And we like to say he literally put us on the map because he was doing the official US map. It's a long, dry trail. And here were these springs where they could get water, water their horses, bathe. It was a little too warm to drink, but they could drink it if they had to. Meanwhile, the Paiute people remain on the land. They're wary of these newcomers who use up their water and food supplies.

There are stories too of tribespeople being kidnapped or forced into slavery. In 1848, the United States wins the Mexico-American War, and the U.S. government assumes control of the area. Life will never be the same for the Paiute people. They are now landless in their own territory. Paiute people. They are now landless in their own territory. Until now, the Europeans and Americans have been transient visitors. They come, they take, they go. But in the 1850s, Mormon missionaries arrive in Las Vegas with a different intention.

They'll stay, settle, and, for the very first time, they'll build. Founded only a few decades previously, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sends a group of its followers to the Las Vegas Valley in 1855. Over the next seven months, the Mormons build an adobe fort they call the Las Vegas Mission.

It's a simple square construction with small high windows and a flat roof. Covering an area of 150 square meters, it's the biggest building for 100 miles, and it's the first non-native structure in the Las Vegas Valley. They add a perimeter wall and two high wooden gates to welcome travelers or keep out unwelcome visitors. Once settled, their goals are clear. They hope to teach new farming techniques to the Native Americans, but mostly they wish to evangelize them. More Mormons arrive when lead ore is discovered and a mine is opened to extract it. But after just two years, the missionaries abandon the site,

blaming political issues, lack of resources, and conflict with the Paiute, who object to the development of their land by outsiders. The Mormon fort lies empty for almost a decade, falling into disrepair. Then an Ohio businessman develops the site as a ranch catering for travelers. But the only way to reach Las Vegas is still by foot or by horse. As the century ends, though, so do the old ways of traveling. The age of the railroad is upon us. The building of the railroad is what brings any kind of significant population here.

The 1900 census showed a population of about 30, but there were competing plans to build a railroad. Ultimately, the result was the LA to Salt Lake line. The railroads serve the important purpose of bringing people here to live, but also bringing them to visit or to do business. The Los Angeles to Salt Lake City Railroad traverses vast areas of unpopulated desert terrain. It's dry, hot, rugged, remote. There are no major towns along the way, but the natural springs of Las Vegas make it a perfect refueling and rest point on the day's long train ride. A railroad company buys up the existing ranches in the areas surrounding the small settlement, and in 1905 it auctions off plots of that land to farmers for development. Just like that, Las Vegas is officially founded as a city. But what of the Paiute people who'd

lived and worked on the land for centuries? The influx of white settlers brings disease and poverty. Numbers wither. Though a wealthy ranch owner offers 10 acres of land to the Native Americans, many have no choice but to work as laborers on land that was once theirs. Meanwhile, the new city is divided into blocks and soon becomes a bustling community with schools, churches, and shops for the locals. For those passing through, there are repair shops, hotels, For those passing through, there are repair shops, hotels, and entertainment. Male travelers take a particular interest in Blocks 16 and 17. Though famous for its abundant water supply, Las Vegas is a dry town when it comes to alcohol.

The only businesses allowed to sell it are located on those two blocks. If there was a way to sell alcohol, they were going to find it. So Block 16 is there from the outset with bars, but they had competition. And this leads to them going in other directions. Gambling was legal in Nevada when Las Vegas started as a town in 1905. It was made illegal in 1910. Didn't matter. There was still gambling going on in Block 16. Alcohol became illegal in 1920 with the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act.

Didn't matter. Alcohol kept going on in Block 16. And Block 16 also became known for prostitution. And this reflected the idea of competing for the almighty dollar and getting people to Block 16. Was it legal? There's a thing called public nuisance law where essentially if nobody says it's a problem, it's legal. That does help set a trend, if you will, that Las Vegas is where you go for vice. It's where you go to do things you're not supposed to do, the things you may not do at home.

And in that way, it has continued. In 1931, Nevada legalizes gambling 22 years after it was criminalized. Legislators hope the move will boost the local economy, which is slipping into the Great Depression. That same year, work begins on the Hoover Dam at Lake Mead, less than 40 miles from Las Vegas. More than 20,000 men are employed to build this mammoth structure, as tall as a 60-story building which dams the largest reservoir in the United States.

Many workers and their families relocate to Las Vegas, and the population booms. Warring couples are also drawn to the state of Nevada as legal changes make it easier to divorce. Though many states outlaw divorce or require parties to provide proof of adultery or abuse, in Nevada it's much easier. Anyone who's lived there for six weeks can legally terminate their marriage with no need for evidence of wrongdoing. When Clark Gable chooses to untie the knot in Las Vegas, thousands follow his lead and divorce tourism booms. But the growth doesn't stop there. A few years later, in 1941, the Las Vegas Army Airfield is built eight miles northeast of the fast-growing city. More than 50,000 military students from across the United States come here to train at its

gunnery school and, later, as combat pilots. But as newcomers, mainly men, are drawn to the city for work, they need more places to play. It's perhaps no coincidence that the first hotel casino in Las Vegas opens the same year as the Gunnery School. El Rancho is constructed by a California businessman just outside the city limits alongside Highway 91. But though some question the decision to build so far from downtown, the hotel, with its Old West theme, is a huge success. Before long, there are several hotel casinos operating on Highway 91.

Six miles away, in downtown Las Vegas, many casinos spring up around Fremont Street. One of the key figures here is Guy McAfee. For years, he's been head of the vice squad in the Los Angeles Police Department, while simultaneously running lucrative gambling houses alongside the mafia. But when a new Los Angeles mayor vowed to come down hard on corruption, McAfee fled to Las Vegas. Now he acquires and manages several casinos in downtown Las Vegas and out on Highway 91. Now he acquires and manages several casinos in downtown Las Vegas and out on Highway 91. In fact, it's McAfee who first refers to that area as the Strip, with reference to Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

He soon announces plans to build the Golden Nugget Casino downtown. When it opens in 1946, it changes the face of Fremont Street forever. The Golden Nugget is downtown on the original town site, and there are a couple of things that are very significant about it. First, most of the downtown Fremont Street casinos were smaller operations at the time. The Golden Nugget was also a casino. It was not a hotel to start with, but it had a kind of theme, Golden Nugget, Gold Rush, evoking Barbary Coast, San Francisco in the era of the Gold Rush. So it was very much a cut above the other locations at the time, right there on Fremont Street. The Golden Nugget

stands out a bit in the downtown area. It's also significant because of who owned it for what it's worth his wife had been in charge of brothels in l.a so he was involved in about everything you get involved in but it's not just mccarthy with a questionable background one of the best known mafia figures in las ve Las Vegas is New York mobster Benjamin Siegel, known as Bugsy. He has a long history with the East Coast Mafia and was a bootlegger during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 30s. He's a founding member of an organized crime group called Murder, Inc., allegedly responsible

for hundreds of contract killings. And in the post-war years, he comes to Las Vegas to oversee the development of a lavish casino hotel on the strip called The Flamingo. He's a key figure, and at the same time, there are people who think he invented Las Vegas. He probably, 99.9% certain, did not have the idea for The Flamingo. He took over the operation from someone else. He got it built. He really didn't know how to run a casino. He was not a good businessman.

And Siegel was not the guy probably to change Las Vegas and really get these resort hotels going. But it does mark a transition into luxury hotel casinos by the definition of the 40s and 50s. transition into luxury hotel casinos by the definition of the 40s and 50s. While many of the hotel casinos in Las Vegas pay tribute to the style and fashions of the Old West, Bugsy looks to the future. The Flamingo will be the first resort-style hotel on the Strip. In a city of excess, he'll provide the best gambling, the most enthralling entertainment, and the most exquisite food. But such luxury comes at a cost. When the project runs late and over budget, Bugsy appeals to mafia associates for help. Though they bail him out, when his checks start bouncing, questions are asked.

Where is all the money going? Some suspect Bugsy's girlfriend is skimming some of the cash. Others think they both are. Eventually, though it's still under construction, the 100-room Flamingo opens on Boxing Day 1946 during an unusually heavy rainstorm. Some claim the opening night is a flop, but others describe the hotel as ritzy and elegant. The bar is lined with mirrors and green leather walls and decorated

with truckloads of flowers. Outside, red and blue lights illuminate the palm trees. Celebrities provide the entertainment. But unfortunately for Bugsy, it doesn't seem to be enough. The novelty wears off, profits wane, and with the accommodation still unfinished, gamblers spend their nights elsewhere. The flamingo is only a few weeks old, and already it's losing money. In desperation, he cuts wages, and uses his own money to keep the place afloat. But more checks bounce, and more questions are asked. Bugsy doesn't have the answers. But one thing is very clear. This can't go on.

Less than six months after the grand opening of the Flamingo, Bugsy is murdered in his girlfriend's Beverly Hills mansion. The story makes headlines across the world, cementing the links between Las Vegas casinos and the mob. While nobody is ever convicted for the murder, many believe it was a contract killing. Just days after his death, the Flamingo Hotel is taken over by members of the New York Mafia who'd invested in the project. But though they've certainly earned their own fearsome reputations, the Mafia bosses are concerned about the public image of Sin City.

The mob actually in the old days, we're talking 40s, 50s, 60s, worked very hard on the image. They didn't want people killed here. Bugsy Siegel was killed back in Southern California. If they were going to decide to take somebody out, and there's still debate about just who did it to Siegel, they didn't want it to happen here. And they were concerned with how TV networks portrayed them. There is certainly an attraction in the idea that there are questionable things going on here. While at the same time, you should feel safe here. They're not going to kill you. Well, Siegel supposedly once said we only kill each other because they were business people.

They may have at one time had to do the dirty work, because they were business people. They may have at one time had to do the dirty work, and they were certainly still sending money illegally to mob families around the country. But they ran a business, and they ran it well, frankly. They built the strip. They also helped build the image. They also understood that if they were going to be successful,

they needed to fly under the radar and not draw attention to themselves if they could help it. Back on the Strip, the Flamingo Hotel has competition. Investors follow its lead, building luxury hotels, casinos, and resorts out here where there's more room, six miles from the city's crowded downtown area. But extra space isn't the only reason developers rush to the Strip. Being outside of the city limits means there are no city taxes to pay. Though big money gamblers from across the country flock to the Strip, the Las Vegas City Administration isn't seeing many benefits. After a few years, the city looked at this and said, hey, we're actually providing them with some services.

We should annex that area. And the mobsters in particular didn't want this. They didn't want to pay additional tax fees. So they got the legislature to approve something called unincorporated townships. The new township formed in 1950 is called Paradise, a name that evokes the life of those who live there tax-free. Paradise, with the Strip at its heart, is governed locally and will only become part of Las Vegas City if its people choose to make the change. But so long as it continues to flourish alone,

that's an unlikely choice. Tourism booms, the hotels are bigger, the highways are better. likely choice. Tourism booms, the hotels are bigger, the highways are better. The new airport, opened in 1949, initially runs 12 flights a day and welcomes almost 40,000 passengers a year. Though tourists are pouring into Las Vegas, little of its revenue reaches the city itself, and before long, downtown falls into decline. The ousted Paiute people are also suffering, but for very different reasons. In the 1950s, the US government ramps up its nationwide policy

of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream American society. What's referred to as the Termination Policy ends the federal government's recognition of tribal sovereignty. The new approach also removes tax protection for Paiutes, along with the health and education benefits. The result is widespread poverty. Meanwhile, business leaders at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce work tirelessly to promote the city,

branding it as the entertainment capital of the world. They hire marketing firms and create a news bureau to spread the message that there's more to Las Vegas than gambling. In the spring of 1942, they launch a truly unique attraction. It's almost 1 a.m. on April 22, 1952, 65 miles north of Las Vegas. The bright headlamps of a packed bus light up the pitch-black desert, heading towards a mess tent. It slows to a stop and opens its doors. A TV cameraman disembarks alongside dozens of bleary-eyed news reporters. They have sleep in their eyes and alcohol on their breath. Many have come to work straight from the casino.

In a city so full of temptations, it's hard to resist. But tonight, in the darkness of this remote desert, they'll witness something none of them have seen before. Inside the tent, the cameraman stands in a line for coffee and breakfast, served by soldiers. But he's anxious to get going and find the best spot for his camera. After taking a pair of the protective glasses on offer, he goes back outside, pausing for an armed security guard to check his pass. Then he follows the others to a viewpoint known as News Knob. His city clothes and polished shoes are quickly dirtied by the dust

of the desert. He hauls his equipment to the designated press area, where dozens of other photographers are already in place, tripods splayed and cameras ready. Cigarettes glow in the darkness and the journalists chat excitedly, speculating what will happen next. Nobody knows, but nobody wants to miss it. Then, eventually, a PA system crackles into life. The countdown begins. The reporters stub out their cigarettes and flip open their notepads Photographers and cameramen crouch to remove the plastic caps from lenses Everybody checks their protective glasses are correctly in place And a quiet descends on the crowd A few seconds later, the world turns white

Suddenly the cameraman can see no desert, no people, no mess tent, no bus. Only a blinding white light that's brighter than anything he's ever seen. Around him, gasps of astonishment are drowned out by the thunderous roar of an explosion that echoes off the mountains and shakes the ground under his feet. When the whiteout fades, a soldier signals to the men that they can remove their eyewear. The cameraman blinks as his eyes adjust to a sky that's unlike any other. The show's not over yet. What starts as a dark red ball of flames scorching the desert floor slowly rises.

The blazing sphere ascends into the dawn sky like a sun. In its wake, a white mushroom cloud glows higher and wider with every passing second. The earth shudders. As a shockwave rushes towards the reporters, the cameraman instinctively wraps his arms around his tripod to steady it. The force of the blast knocks his neighbor's equipment to the ground, and a tsunami of dust follows, coating everything in sight. The cloud continues to climb, and the journalists are told by an official that the white shape

appearing at its apex, between 20 and 30,000 feet up, is an ice cap. Eventually, the sky clears, and the soldiers direct the press back onto the bus. The cameraman can barely wait to get back to the studio and prepare the footage for broadcast to TV sets across the United States. It's an explosive exclusive, the first televised broadcast of an atomic bomb testing. Las Vegas is officially back in the spotlight. When the dust settles, reporters are taken closer to the bomb site to examine the charred remains of cars, houses and equipment laid out for the test. U.S. ground troops stationed four miles from the target move within a few hundred feet of ground zero. More than 100 paratroopers pass through the testing area

less than an hour after the bomb is detonated. One of the army generals claims the only casualties were soldiers who got a mouthful of dirt. The mood is celebratory. In homes across the United States, families crowd around black and white televisions to witness the first of more than a thousand explosions planned for the test site. Many wish to witness it themselves. When future bomb dates are released, businesses in downtown Las Vegas do what they can to cash in on the newest craze. A hairdressing salon launches a new style of perm called the Atomic. Bars serve cocktails named after the bomb,

and a bar downtown calls itself Atomic Liquors. Hotels organize special Dawn Bomb breakfast events, where guests can go onto the rooftop and watch the explosion from there. The Chamber of Commerce publishes calendars with dates and times of the detonations, and tour companies run buses to the outskirts of the city so visitors can watch from a distance. The tests even inspire a new pin-up girl for Las Vegas. Miss Atomic Bomb wears a fluffy white dress shaped like a mushroom cloud. For years, tourists flocked to the city to witness the spectacle,

but in the early 60s the experiments moved below ground. More than 900 bombs are tested beneath the desert floor, but now there's nothing for the crowds to see. And while the danger of nuclear radiation is either misunderstood or underplayed by the government, health concerns are raised by families living downwind from the test sites. As time went on, and there were more of these cases, and there were stories of downwinders, people in rural southern Nevada and southern Utah who'd been exposed and became sick, whose animals, if they were in ranching, were exposed and became sick. The federal government eventually set aside some money to help them. And that knowledge has helped explain why when the US government wanted to put a nuclear waste dump on the test site, most Nevadans objected strenuously. We've done our bit, you might say, and we don't need that risk.

As the bomb craze fizzles out, Las Vegas is forced to reinvent itself once again. What will be the next big thing in Sin City? It's just after midnight on Monday, May 1, 1967. In Palm Springs, California, a young couple hold hands as they creep in darkness across a backyard. They clamber over the fence at the far end, holding in their laughter until they're safely inside the car waiting for them on the other side. Soon, they reach the airport. Outside, taxis line up next to palm trees, and drivers chat and smoke through the open windows. Few even glance at the couple as they climb from their vehicle.

Inside the departures hall is quiet, just as they'd hoped. The man keeps his head down, squeezing his lover's hand as they're led quickly to their plane, a private jet borrowed from a close friend. Finally, on board, they relax. The man pulls a guitar from his luggage and sings a love song to his long-term girlfriend, as they touch down in a city he knows well, Las Vegas. From the airport, they take a car to their downtown hotel. The city is alive with lights, the casino's busy with drinkers and gamblers testing their luck. But the couple leaves nothing to chance. At 3.30 a.m., the couple slip into the city courthouse as arranged. Here, they collect a marriage license. A few hours later, the 32-year-old groom makes the final adjustment to his hair, then steps into an extravagantly decorated hotel suite

adorned with flowers and lit by candles. He feels good in his black silk tuxedo and diamond cufflinks. A hidden strip of wire holds his trademark quiff perfectly in place. He's nervous but hides it well. Heads turn when he walks between the fourteen guests, then he takes his place at the front of the room. There's a hush when the twenty-one-year-old bride appears moments later. Now all eyes are on her and the ceremony can begin. The couple exchange smiles and matching rings.

When it comes to the vows, the word obey is missing. But when the promises are made, they kiss and it's all over. Only eight minutes have passed. The wedding was private and relaxed, exactly as they'd wanted. But outside the hotel, the news of the event has spread and tensions are rising. Journalists and photographers jostle to reach the front of the crowd, desperate to snap the iconic groom and his new wife. Screaming fans now pack the streets around the venue,

some waving photos and homemade signs in the air. From time to time, they sing his songs in boisterous unison, and security staff struggle to hold them back. Some of the crowd cry. Others chant the groom's name. Even a glimpse of their idol will do, just enough to be able to say they were there on the day Elvis Presley got married to Priscilla. After a brief press conference, Mr. and Mrs. Presley pop the first bottle of champagne at a $10,000 reception with 100 friends. Guests cheer, and cameras snap as they cut the six-tiered wedding cake, almost as tall as they are. Love Me Tender plays,

and the couple step onto the floor for their first dance as husband and wife. The king of rock and roll is married, and the eyes of the world are once again on Las Vegas. And the eyes of the world are once again on Las Vegas. The marriage trade has been big here really since gambling became legal and the residency requirement for divorce was reduced. And it hit people, gee, I'm coming there to get divorced. I might as well get married too. And celebrities were coming here to get married. And that had some benefit because, oh, celebrity is great.

Nevada also eliminated the blood test requirement. You just had to swear you weren't related. here to get married and that had some benefit because oh celebrity is great nevada also eliminated the blood test requirement you just had to swear you weren't related but elvis is also here to perform he's learned a lot from a series of disappointing performances in the city a few years earlier he was too young back then but now he understands how Las Vegas works. Visitors pay five or six dollars for dinner, drinks, and a show. It's cheap and accessible, but the real money is made once the music is over. If they've enjoyed the entertainment, audience members will stick around and spend their money in the casino. That's how performers get invited back. Frank Sinatra is known to attract big gamblers, as do other members of the Rat Pack. But entertainers who fail to fill the casinos are sent home with their tail between their legs.

Among the hopefuls is a young, out-of-work actor called Ronald Reagan. Though he gets a brief slot working as a stand-up comic, he doesn't last long and never performs on stage there again. At least, not for entertainment. But Ronald Reagan returns to Las Vegas and Nevada almost a dozen times in a later job as President of the United States. But Elvis is now confident he'll bring in the crowds. But Elvis is now confident he'll bring in the crowds. In 1969, he performs almost 60 sellout shows to thousands of fans at the newly opened International Hotel.

The press hail it as a huge triumph. And Las Vegas reaps the rewards. He had incredibly popular and successful shows. And people came here to see Elvis. And then, OK, what else are we going to do? We've seen Elvis. Let's go gamble. Let's eat, whatever. They're spending money. So Elvis makes a major contribution in that regard.

And he brings us publicity. And he certainly didn't hurt the wedding trade by choosing Las Vegas as the place to tie the knot with Priscilla. But while Elvis is flamboyantly bursting back onto the scene, a very different figure is making his way to Las Vegas. Billionaire businessman Howard Hughes arrives on a private train. A famed aviator, he's broken speed records and completed the fastest round-the-world flight. As a moviemaker in Hollywood, he's gained praise from critics and been linked romantically to stars including Ava Gardner. But arriving in Las Vegas in the late 60s, he's a different man.

Crippled by the pain of numerous plane accidents and addicted to the drugs that ease his suffering, Hughes is now best known as an eccentric recluse and a germophobe. For many years, he and his entourage have stayed in hotel penthouses across the country. In Las Vegas, they check into the top floor of the Desert Inn, a luxury hotel with one of the largest casinos in all of Nevada State. But there's a problem. Hughes does not gamble. Neither do his staff. But when frustrated casino bosses ask them to vacate the luxury suites to make way for big spenders, Howard Hughes gives an unexpected answer. He'll buy the hotel instead. And he doesn't stop there

In the coming years, Hughes invests an estimated $300 million in Las Vegas He buys resorts, casinos, mines, a TV station, an airline, and huge tracts of desert But for all his wealth, he gives the city something else, something money can't buy, respectability. He benefits Nevada and Las Vegas in some significant ways. He is the only person to get a license from the state for gambling without having to appear for a hearing. Their attitude is, he's Howard Hughes,

he's a billionaire, and he's not a mobster, he's okay. And the governor at the time, Paul Laxalt, welcomed this because Laxalt was hoping to change the image and reputation, but also change the economy. And Hughes has a big impact in that regard because if we're acceptable to Hughes, we should be acceptable to other people with money to invest. And he does help the reputation. He really doesn't clear out the mob. He keeps the same people in the casino cage, so to speak, so they can keep skimming. And Hughes and his people don't know how to stop it. But it's good for the reputation. a new wave of investors arrive as long-established mafia bosses gradually leave by the early 1980s the mobsters are a dying

breed some have been prosecuted some try clinging to power but public opinion is against them las vegas is ready to reinvent itself as developers lay down plans for a new breed of hotel, Las Vegas is once again alive with the sound of explosions. In the 1990s and 2000s, more than a dozen of the older properties are dynamited. Known as the Las Vegas implosions, crowds flock to see older, smaller hotels torn to the ground as fireworks light up the sky above them. Upgrades and extensions are no longer enough to meet customer demands. The new generation of visitors want bigger, more luxurious hotels with facilities and entertainment for all the family. And so begins the era of the mega resort.

Many offer more than 3,000 rooms, and the buildings themselves are a major part of the attraction. There's an Egyptian pyramid, complete with a 110-feet-tall sphinx that's taller than the original. The Venetian recreates the look and feel of Venice in Italy, complete with canals and cobbled streets. The Excalibur recreates a medieval castle, and Caesar's Palace features seven pools and swim-up gaming tables. At the Bellagio Hotel, more than a thousand fountains sway to music and light, shooting water almost 500 feet into the air. It's a favorite spot for photographs, but a far cry from the natural springs that bubbled up through the desert floor to provide water for the Native Americans who once ruled this territory.

Today, the Paiute people's land is a 31-acre plot just north of downtown Las Vegas. is a 31-acre plot just north of downtown Las Vegas. After the termination policy of the 1950s, the tribe was once again recognized as a sovereign nation in 1980, and the fortunes of the Las Vegas Paiutes improved little by little. Some ancestral land is returned. Many Paiutes today are involved in the tobacco trade. In fact, their tribal smoke shop in downtown claims to be the biggest single retailer of cigarettes in the United States. There's also a major golf course resort here, and tribal leaders plan to develop further, building hotels, casinos and spas.

The tribe has its own police department, health services, and education programs, and it holds regular events to celebrate and promote their culture. Native Americans are still very much a part of what is going on in Southern Nevada, granting the decline

in their numbers. Just as the Paiute have adapted, in the 120 years since its creation as a city, Las Vegas has done whatever was needed to survive. As the desires and whims of those visiting it have shifted,

it has reinvented itself time and again, but always embracing excess. Las Vegas has a population of less than 700,000, but attracts more than 40 million visitors a year. It has more than 150,000 hotel rooms, most of which are constantly occupied all year round. And it's just celebrated its 5 millionth wedding.

The city's most famous slogan read, what happens here stays here. But can the so-called Sin City ever shake off the famous nickname that alludes to decades of gambling and drinking? That's been a problem for a long time, especially those of us who live here. It's kind of a cross we have to bear that if you want people to visit Las Vegas, it has to have this image. Today, it's what happens here stays here. That's a bit suggestive. Meanwhile, we're all walking around here living normal lives. But if history tells us anything, it's that Las Vegas reinvents itself to meet the modern market. If you have a weakness, Las Vegas will find it.

Las Vegas will change with society and technology to keep up. Forty-eight states in the United States now have some form of legal gambling. Nevada had a monopoly from 1931 to 78. So Las Vegas cannot proceed on the presumption, oh, they all come here to gamble. And that's why we've had the transitions in entertainment. Las Vegas evolves, so do we. And people will keep coming. Next week on Short History Of, we'll bring you a short history of the Irish potato famine. The amount of food that is being exported is shocking. In 1846, we know the amount of cattle actually increases

in terms of exports. Massive amounts of eggs, seafood, dairy product, and massive amounts of alcohol were being exported through every year of the famine. At one point, the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin asked the British government very early on the famine, can we stop the distillation of alcohol, even temporarily? That had been done in previous famines. And the British government said, no, we'll leave it to free market forces. So all that grain, all that food could have been used to feed animals, could have been used to feed people. And it certainly would have stabilized food prices. So even if it hadn't been enough, I think there was enough food.

If it had been kept in the country, it would have kept food prices low. That's next time on Short History Of.