| 1829 |
Discovered by Spanish Explorers. |
| 1855 |
First settlement by Mormons in Las Vegas |
| 1905 |
Town of Las Vegas established by auctioning of land. |
| 1911 |
The City of Las Vegas is incorporated |
| 1926 |
First
Commercial airline flight, Western Airlines. |
| 1931 |
Hoover
Dam Construction begins in Black Canyon. |
| 1931 |
Gambling
legalized in Nevada. |
| 1935 |
Hoover
Dam dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt. |
| 1940 |
Clark
County population 15,414(Las Vegas-8,422). |
| 1941 |
El
Rancho Vegas on the Strip. El Cortez Hotel opens in Downtown Las
Vegas. El Rancho was destroyed by fire 19 years later. |
| 1942 |
Last
Frontier Hotel opens. (Later called New Frontier and Frontier) |
| 1944 |
The
first Helldorado parade and rodeo is held. |
| 1946 |
Bugsy
Siegal opens The Flamingo Hotel. State levies first gaming taxes. |
| 1950 |
Clark
County population 48,289. (Las Vegas- 24,624.) |
| 1955 |
Gaming
control strengthened. Gaming Control Board created within the
Nevada Tax Commission by the legislature. |
| 1959 |
Las
Vegas Convention Center opens. The Nevada Gaming Commission is
created by the legislature. |
| 1960 |
Clark
County population 127,016. (Las Vegas- 64,405.) |
| 1966 |
Howard
Hughes arrives to live at Desert Inn. |
| 1967 |
Nevada's
legislature passes a law allowing publicly traded corporations to
obtain gambling licenses. The law is refined in 1969. |
| 1970 |
Clark
County population 273,288. (Las Vegas- 125,787.) |
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| 1975 |
Nevada
gaming revenue first time reaches $1 billion. |
| 1977 |
Clark
County gaming revenues for the first time reaches $1
billion. The Nevada Legislature passes a foreign gaming
law allowing Nevada-based casino owners to operate casinos outside
Nevada's borders. |
| 1980 |
Clark
County population hits 463,087 (Las Vegas- 164,674) |
| 1980 |
Las
Vegas celebrates 75th birthday |
| 1981 |
Las Vegas celebrates Golden Anniversary of Gaming |
| 1985 |
First National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas. |
| 1989 |
Mirage opens November 22, with 3,029 rooms. |
| 1990 |
Clark County population 741,459. (Las
Vegas-258,295.) |
| 1990 |
Excalibur opens June 19, to date the world's largest
resort hotel with 4,032 rooms. |
| 1992 |
First Las Vegas Bowl held at Silver Bowl. |
| 1993 |
Dunes Hotel
sold to Steve Wynn's Mirage
Inc., and
imploded October 27. |
| 1993 |
Money won by Nevada casinos tops the $6 billion mark
for the first time. |
| 1993 |
ITT Sheraton Corp. purchases Desert Inn Hotel from
Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. |
| 1993 |
Grand Slam Canyon Adventuredome opens August 23. |
| 1993 |
Luxor
Hotel opens October 15 with 2,526 rooms |
| 1993 |
Treasure
Island Hotel opens October 27 with 2,900 rooms. |
| 1993 |
MGM
Grand Hotel and Theme Park opens December 18, with 5,005 rooms and
a 171,500 square-foot casino, to date the largest resort hotel
casino in the world. |
| 1993 |
Nevada
Legislature passes enabling legislation for financing of "The
Fremont Street Experience." |
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| 1994 |
Buffalo
Bill's in Primm and Boulder Station Casino on Boulder Highway in
Las Vegas open. |
| 1994 |
Plans
to construct New York-New York Hotel Casino at the intersection of
the Strip and Tropicana Avenue announced jointly by MGM Grand and
Primadonna Resorts. |
| 1994 |
Work
begins on Fremont Street Experience Downtown Fremont Street is
permanently closed to automobile traffic on September 7. |
| 1994 |
The
first scheduled Condor Charter Flight to Las Vegas from Cologne,
Germany, lands November 7 at McCarran International Airport. |
| 1994 |
Sam's
Town on Boulder Highway expands with the opening of a 650-room
tower and lush, plant-filled atrium. |
| 1994 |
A
300 room hotel/casino named Boomtown opens on Blue Diamond Road a
I-15. |
| 1994 |
Four
skywalks are built over the intersection of Tropicana Boulevard
and the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1994 |
McCarran
opens interstate 15-airport connector road system that tunnels
under the east/west runways. |
| 1994 |
The
Fiesta, the first hotel/casino in North Las Vegas, opens with 100
rooms. |
| 1995 |
Vegas
World closes its doors February 1 for work on a casino complex and
the Stratosphere Tower. |
| 1995 |
The
first Hard Rock Hotel opens March 10. |
| 1995 |
$25
million monorail begins running between MGM Grand and Bally's
hotel/casino on June 14. |
| 1995 |
Bill
Bennett retires from Circus Circus Enterprises, then buys the
Sahara Hotel/Casino from Paul and Sue Lowden. |
| 1995 |
ITT
Corp. buys Caesars World Inc. for $1.7 billion, including Caesars
Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1995 |
Construction
begins on Steve Wynn's 46-story, $1.7 billion 3,000-room Bellagio
located at the intersection of Flamingo Road and the Las Vegas
Strip. |
| 1995 |
Circus
Circus Enterprises buys Hacienda and surrounding 100 acres. |
| 1995 |
The
face of downtown Las Vegas changes forever with the December 13
opening of the $70 million Fremont Street Experience. |
| 1995 |
Las
Vegas reports a 29 million visitor volume for the year. Statewide
gross gaming revenue surpasses $7.3 billion. Clark County produced
$5.7 billion of the State's gaming revenue total. |
| 1995 |
Landmark
Hotel imploded November 7. |
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| 1996 |
Ground
breaking ceremonies for Las Vegas Hilton's 'Star Trek: The
Experience' held on January 24. |
| 1996 |
The
$13 million Las Vegas Strip beautification project, in which
76,000 palms, shrubs, flowering foliage and ground covers were
planted, is finished in March. |
| 1996 |
Wayne
Newton celebrates 25,000th Las Vegas performance. Siegfried and
Roy celebrate 15,000th Las Vegas performance. |
| 1996 |
Work
is completed on the Desert Inn Road arterial, creating the first
tunnel under the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1996 |
Stratosphere
Tower, the tallest free-standing observation tower in the U.S. and
the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, opens April
30. |
| 1996 |
Hilton
Hotels Corp. purchases Bally's Entertainment Corp., parent company
of Bally's hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $3 billion. |
| 1996 |
Caesars
Magical Empire, a multimillion dollar dining and entertainment
complex opens in Caesars Palace June 18. |
| 1996 |
Monte
Carlo, a joint venture between Circus Circus Enterprises Inc., and
Mirage Resorts Inc., opens June21. |
| 1996 |
The
$72 million, 1,100-acre Las Vegas Motor Speedway with tracks for
drag, stock car and formula car races opens in September. |
| 1996 |
Clark
County Commission grants building permits for the $500 million,
2,900-room Paris Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1996 |
Hyatt
Hotel Corp. announce plans to build a 500-room hotel on the shores
of Lake Las Vegas. |
| 1996 |
Circus
Circus Enterprises announces a joint venture with Four Seasons
Regent to build a 400-room, five star non-gaming hotel on the Las
Vegas Strip. |
| 1996 |
The
Sands Hotel, after 44 years of continuous operation, is
closed June 30 by owner Sheldon Adelson who announces plans to
build a 6,000-room mega resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Sands
tower imploded November 26. |
| 1996 |
Flamingo
Hilton celebrates 50th anniversary. Caesars Palace celebrates 30th
anniversary. |
| 1996 |
State
Line, NV at the Southern Nevada-California border, is renamed
Primm in honor of the community's founder Ernest Primm. |
| 1996 |
Ground
breaking held for 3,000-room Planet Hollywood Hotel Casino
adjacent to The Desert Inn at Sands Avenue and the Las Vegas
Strip. Construction on the joint venture between ITT Corp. and
Planet Hollywood was never started. |
| 1996 |
Circus
Circus implodes Hacienda Hotel Casino December 31,
to make way for mega resort. |
| 1996 |
29.6
million people visit Las Vegas in 1996; state gross gaming revenue
totals $7.45 billion. |
| 1996 |
Clark
County population hits 1.1 million. |
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| 1997 |
The
Tropicana Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip celebrates its 40th
anniversary. |
| 1997 |
New-York
New-York Hotel Casino opens on the Las Vegas Strip January 3. More
than 100,000 people/day visit the new resort during the first
day's in operation. |
| 1997 |
Hilton
Hotels Corp. makes a $10.5 billion hostile takeover move on
January 28 against ITT Corp., which resists the bid. ITT
shareholders reject Hilton takeover in favor of a more lucrative
offer by Starwood Lodging. The deal involves ownership of Caesars
Palace and The Desert Inn on the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1997 |
The
6,945-yard, par 71 Lakes Course opens February 7, the first golf
course located in Primm, NV. |
| 1997 |
Sheldon
Adelson breaks ground in April to build the 6,000-suite, $1.8
billion Venetian Hotel and Resort on the grounds of the original
Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1997 |
Steve
Wynn, builder of Las Vegas Strip mega resorts, calls for a
"go-slow" approach to future expansion in Las Vegas. |
| 1997 |
The
U.S. Air Force celebrates its 50th anniversary in an unequaled
display of military aviation. Attended by 80 foreign, high-ranking
NATO and Pacific Air command officials, and 300,000
spectators. |
| 1997 |
Coca
Cola Co. opens its World of Coca Cola® store in the Showcase Mall
marked by a 100-foot tall glass Coca Cola bottle. |
| 1997 |
The
first non-stop scheduled commercial flight from Frankfurt-Mein
International airport in Germany lands May 7 with 215 passengers
at McCarran International Airport. |
| 1997 |
Sunset
Station Hotel Casino opens June 10. |
| 1997 |
Players
Island Resort Hotel and Spa in Mesquite is purchased by Virgin
River Casino and renamed Casa Blanca on July 1. |
| 1997 |
The
Forum shops at Caesars on August 29 opened 35 new shops, stores
and restaurants in a 276,000 square-foot expansion. |
| 1997 |
The
Aladdin Hotel closes on the Las Vegas Strip November 25 making way
for a $1.2 billion gambling and hotel complex. |
| 1997 |
The
Desert Inn Hotel Casino completes $200 million renovation and
expansion. |
| 1997 |
Owners
change the name of the Boomtown Hotel Casino to Silverton after
Majestic Realty Co. takes control of the struggling resort from
Boomtown Inc. |
| 1997 |
Harley
Davidson Cafe opens on the Las Vegas Strip, Continuing the theme
restaurant proliferation. |
| 1997 |
Caesars
Palace opens new tower in December. |
| 1997 |
Harrah's
Entertainment Inc. buys Showboat Inc. in a $1.154 billion deal. |
| 1997 |
The
Frontier Hotel, owned by the Elardi family, is sold to Phil
Ruffin, a Kansas industrialist, for $165 million. |
| 1997 |
Rio
All-Suite Hotel and Casino opens Masquerade Village and new
41-story, 1,025-room tower giving the resort a total of 2,556
suites. |
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| 1998 |
Circus
Circus officials announce that Mandalay Bay will be the name of
the company's new resort at the Strip and Russell Road. The
hotel's working name was Project Paradise. 3,300 rooms are
planned. |
| 1998 |
Starwood
Hotels & Resorts buys ITT Corp. for $14.6 billion. The
purchase includes acquisition of Caesars Palace and The Desert Inn
Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. |
| 1998 |
Eagle
Canyon Airlines buys Las Vegas based Scenic Airlines. |
| 1998 |
The
Aladdin Hotel is imploded on April 27. |
| 1998 |
Northwest
Airlines inaugurates non-stop service June 1 from Tokyo to Las
Vegas. |
| 1998 |
Japan
Airlines inaugurates non-stop service October 2 from Tokyo to Las
Vegas. |
| 1998 |
Korean
Airlines makes history in August with three non-stop charter
flights from Seoul, Korea, to Las Vegas. |
| 1998 |
Country
Star restaurant on the Strip is acquired by Mirage Resorts Inc.
and closes. |
| 1998 |
Bellagio,
billed as the most expensive hotel in the world ($1.7 billion)
opens October 15 on the Las Vegas Strip and initiates a policy
barring persons under 18 years of age who are not registered
guests of the hotel. |
| 1998 |
Las
Vegas Convention Center opens an expansion, boosting its total
space to 1.9 million square feet. |
| 1998 |
The
Debbie Reynolds Hotel-Casino is sold at public auction August 5 to
the World Wrestling Federation for $9.27 million. |
| 1998 |
The
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is sold in December by founders Bill
Bennett and Ralph Englestad to North Carolina-based Speedway
Motorsports Inc., headed by O. Bruton Smith, for $215 million. |
| 1998 |
Proposition
5 is passed by California voters in November, opening the door for
casino-style gambling on American Indian reservations. |
| 1998 |
A
66-year old Las Vegas resident hits a $27.58 million progressive
Megabucks jackpot November 15 at the Palace Station Hotel Casino. |
| 1998 |
The
D Gates open at McCarran International Airport. |
| 1998 |
Annual
gross gaming revenue in Nevada hits the $8.1 billion mark. |
| 1998 |
Annual
number of visitors to Las Vegas totals 30.6 million people. |
| 1998 |
On
December 31, Hilton Hotels Corp. spins off its gaming division to
Park Place Entertainment Corp., including the Las Vegas Hilton,
Flamingo Hilton, Bally's and Paris on the Las Vegas Strip. |
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| 1999 |
Harrah's
Entertainment Inc. purchases the Rio Hotel-Casino Inc. for $888
million January 1 |
| 1999 |
MGM
Grand Inc. buys Primadonna Resorts Inc, taking 100 percent
ownership of New York-New York Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas Strip
and Whiskey Pete's, Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley Resort
& Primm Valley Resort & Casino in Primm, NV March 1. |
| 1999 |
Four
Seasons Hotel opens March 2 with 424 rooms. |
| 1999 |
Phase
1 of the Venetian Resort Hotel/Casino opens May 3 with 3,036
suites. |
| 1999 |
The
Las Vegas Convention Center celebrates its 40th birthday. |
| 1999 |
Circus
Circus Enterprises changes its name to Mandalay Resort Group. |
| 1999 |
The
Resort at Summerlin opens July 15. |
| 1999 |
Paris
Las Vegas Casino Resort opens September 1. |
| 1999 |
Barbara
Streisand, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Tina Turner,
Wayne Newton and Don Rickles are among the many entertainers
booked by Las Vegas resorts to ring in the new century |
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| 2000 |
A
$3 billion deal closes to sell Caesars World Inc., Including
Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip, to Park Place
Entertainment. |
| 2000 |
The
Resort at Summerlin changes its name to The Regent Las Vegas. |
| 2000 |
MGM
Grand Inc. announces the purchase of the Mirage Resorts Inc.,
creating the largest corporate buyout in gaming history. |
| 2000 |
Station
Casinos plans a $55 million expansion for its Texas Station in
North Las Vegas. |
| 2000 |
The
Clark County Department of Aviation unveils $1 billion plan for
expansion and renovation of McCarran International Airport. |
| 2000 |
The
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority awards a $113 million
contract to PCL Construction Services to expand the Las Vegas
Convention Center. |
| 2000 |
Construction
begins on Stations Casino Green Valley Ranch. |
| 2000 |
Stations
Casino purchases the Santa Fe Hotel-Casino for $205 million. |
| 2000 |
The
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority opens an affiliate
office in Sydney, Australia. |
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| 2001 |
The
Orleans plans a $100 million expansion that will include the
addition of a 620-room hotel tower, a 9,000-seat arena and a
40,000 square-foot casino. |
| 2001 |
ESPN
Regional assumes ownership of the Las Vegas Bowl from the Las
Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. |
| 2002 |
Neonopolis
entertainment center opens downtown at the Fremont Street
Experience. |
| 2003 |
The
Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority debuts its new
advertising campaign, "Vegas Stories" with
the tagline "What Happens Here, Stays here." |
| 2003 |
The
$105 million '40's themed property, The Cannery, opens its doors. |
| 2003 |
America
West increases its number of daily trips between Las Vegas and
Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, California and San
Francisco. |
| 2003 |
The
Stratosphere releases plans for its largest thrill ride, a
teeter-totter like device situated nearly 900 feet above Las Vegas
Boulevard, called X Scream. |
| 2003 |
Steve
Wynn changes the name for Las Vegas' newest mega resort from
LeReve to Wynn Las Vegas. |
| 2003 |
Las
Vegas Premium Outlets open in downtown Las Vegas. |
| 2003 |
The
Fashion Show mall completes a $1 billion expansion, including a
towering outdoor multimedia platform called " The
Cloud". |
| 2003 |
McCarran
International Airport introduces new electronic ticketing kiosk
system. |
| 2003 |
Mandalay
Bay opens new 1,120 suite tower |
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| 2004 |
Park
Place Entertainment Corp. officially changes it's name to Caesars
Entertainment. |
| 2004 |
Harrah's
Entertainment purchases Binion's Horseshoe. |
| 2004 |
Boyd
Gaming Corporation merges with Coast Resorts. |
| 2004 |
Mergers
abound in Las Vegas, MGM Mirage announces plans to purchase the
Mandalay Resort Group. One month later, Harrah's Entertainment
announces its plan to purchase Caesars Entertainment. |
| 2004 |
The
Strip dims its lights for President Ronald Reagan's passing. Other
dignitaries to receive such a remembrance upon their passing have
included President John F. Kennedy; Rat Pack members: Sammy Davis,
Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin; and George Burns. |
| 2004 |
The
Las Vegas Hilton is sold to Colony Resorts for $280 million. |
| 2004 |
The
Las Vegas Monorail, a $654 million mass transit system, opens to
the public. |
| 2004 |
Las
Vegas Sands releases new details about its planned $1.6 billion
Palazzo casino resort on the Strip |
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| 2005 |
Las
Vegas celebrates it's centennial year throughout 2005, beginning
with the New Year's Fireworks display. |
| 2005 |
Las
Vegas will celebrate its 100th birthday on May 15. |
| 2005 |
Wynn
Las Vegas, the destination's newest mega resort opens April 28. |
