About That Las Vegas Town-- Part 6: Taking a Risk and Sports

It's not just gamblers taking risks in Vegas.  The Strip has been a global capital of extreme sports ever since December 1967, when a little-known stunt artist named Evel Knieval tried to jump the fountains of the newly opened Caesars Palace, coming up short and crashing to the tune of several broken bones and a 29-day coma.

The city is also recognized as the undisputed home of boxing since the iconic slugfest between George Foreman and Ron Lyle at Caesars Palace in 1976.

In more recent thrills, last November the eyes of millions were fixed on the city for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix Formula 1's first ever after-dark race in Sin City turned the area into a high velocity street circuit with the Strip naturally taking center stage as the blistering home stretch.

Ever seductive, the Strip continues to temp visitors with its unusual indulgences:  Win a fortune on black, fall in love by the fountains of the Bellagio, get married by Elvis-- or snag a quickie divorce.

Tastes may change, but its the thrill of the ephemeral that makes Vegas Vegas.

--DaCoot

About That Las Vegas Town-- Part 3: The Coming of the Las Vegas Strip

The characteristically American mix of grit, graft and speculation turned a dusty desert road into the entertainment capital of the world, a 4.2-mile stretch that would eventually become known as the Las Vegas Strip.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Strip attracted shady characters right from the start.  In 1939, a cop named Guy McAfee arrived in Vegas after fleeing Los Angeles under accusations of corruption.  He quickly put down roots, buying and developing the Pair O' Dice Club and several others.  Inspired by his Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, he also bestowed the name upon Vegas' main drag.

Soon after, in 1941, California businessman Thomas Hull founded the area's first luxury resort, El Rancho Vegas, with blossoming gardens and a capacious swimming pool.  

The new adult playground caught the attention of the New York mob, who saw opportunities in both legal gambling and in less-legal money skimming.  In 1945, the infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel bullied his way into the development of the luxury Flamingo resort, creating a template for the super-casinos to come.  Until then, Vegas casinos typically sported Wild West themes, but Siegel ushered in an era of unbridled opulence.

--Cooter

About That Las Vegas Town-- Part 2: Gambling and Quickie Divorces

Continued from June 13.

At the turn of the 20th century, the oasis town became a rest area for wagons and a stop on the new railroad connecting Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.

This railroad was completed in 1905, and in 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a U.S. city.  Though gambling was prohibited at first, clandestine casinos opened for business.  Then, in 1931, everything changes when Nevada became the first state to legalize gambling, as well as the first to offer quickie divorces.

From then on, the Silver State was synonymous with American excess.

Around the same time, construction began on the Hoover Dam, which would supply water and power to the valley.  This monumental project brought in an influx of construction workers to the city of Las Vegas, and local entrepreneurs wasted no time in opening casinos to relieve these men of their spare cash.

--DaCoot

October Anniversaries: Peanuts, Circus Circus and Legos

From the October AARP Bulletin.

OCTOBER 2, 1950--  The first "Peanuts" comic strip was published.  I am glad the Chicago Tribune continues to reprint them daily.  Gotta love that WWI Flying Ace and, if there was a Major League Baseball team that could have been Good Ol' Charlie Brown's, it would have had to have been the Chicago Cubs.

OCTOBER 18, 1968--  Circus Circus Casino resort opened in Las Vegas on The Strip.  Last I heard, it was still there, but probably not for much longer.  My favorite casino on the Strip is Slots of Fun back when they had the $1 Blackjack tables and 75 Cent bottles of Heinekin and Corona as well as the huge quarterpounder beef hot dogs.

OCTOBER 24, 1961--  The patent was approved for toy building blocks that became known as Legos.  I was ten, but never got into Legos.  They seem to be doing pretty well now.  But, I was pretty-well hooked on the Lincoln Logs and Erector Sets (and what was the one with the spindles and wooden round things?).

I Built Many a Great Fort With Those Logs.  --Cooter