Immigrate to the United States and learn about American cities: Superstar stage shows that party all night, thrilling championship boxing matches, and dazzling casinos attract the world's attention. This is Las Vegas—the city that never sleeps in the desolate desert.
Las Vegas was originally just an oasis on the road to California, surrounded by an endless desert. It is located in the southeastern corner of Nevada, 466 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles. In the 1930s, the state of Nevada decided to legalize gambling. Once this order was issued, the charm of this bustling metropolis, the city that never sleeps in the desert, was fully revealed.
The attractions in Las Vegas are relatively concentrated. On the Las Vegas Strip, you can find many well-known hotels. The Wet'n'Wild water park, the Forum Shops at Caesars, the Warner Bros. 16-screen theater, and the Showcase Mall are all nearby. The Las Vegas golf course and the University of Nevada are also located in the city center.
“Las Vegas” originates from Spanish, meaning “fertile meadows.” As noted in Las Vegas self-guided travel guides, it was the only oasis with springs in the surrounding desolate desert and semi-desert area. Because of the springs, it gradually became a stopover for highways and a transit station for railways. Las Vegas was founded in 1854 by Mormons in the American West. Later, the Mormons moved away, and the U.S. military turned it into a military post, but the population remained very small. Las Vegas was incorporated in 1905. After gold and silver mines were discovered in Nevada, a large number of prospectors poured in, and Las Vegas began to prosper. However, like other mining towns in the West, it was abandoned once the mines were exhausted. On January 1, 1910, all casinos and brothels were closed. In 1931, during the Great Depression, the Nevada legislature passed a bill to legalize gambling to overcome economic difficulties, and Las Vegas became a gambling city, rising rapidly thereafter. The main economic pillar of Las Vegas is the gaming industry. Because casinos are gold mines, tycoons from all over the United States invested in building casinos in Las Vegas, and even Japanese billionaires, Arab princes, and famous actors came to invest. In 1990, even a Chinatown was established in Las Vegas, which soon became a gathering place for Asian Americans, making Las Vegas one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.