Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas [1] is the largest city in the state of Nevada. Nicknamed Sin City and claiming to be the Entertainment Capital of the World, it is situated in the midst of the southern Nevada desert landscape. The city has giant mega-casino hotels, decorated with lavish care and attention to detail to create a fantasy-like atmosphere. The casinos have names that evoke romance and mystery - Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Rio, The Excalibur, the Flamingo. Others evoke popular worldwide destinations such as New York-New York, Paris, Monte Carlo, and the Venetian.

Understand

Compared with other cities in the West, Las Vegas is a relatively recent arrival. It was founded in 1905, and for many years it was merely a small settlement in the middle of the desert. However, several pivotal events would come together in less than twenty years to make Las Vegas what it is today:

• The construction of Hoover Dam in 1928 brought thousands of workers to the area.
• Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, and what is now downtown Las Vegas became an entertainment center for the dam workers, with casinos and speakeasies.
• In 1941, the luxurious El Rancho Vegas resort opened on what would later become the Las Vegas Strip. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel later opened the Flamingo Hotel in 1946, starting the building boom and one-upmanship that would continue largely unabated for the next 50 years and creating a precedent of Organized Crime involvement in Nevada's gambling industry that arguably persists.

Contact

Las Vegas Airport has free WiFi. On the Strip some internet cafes exist with prices from 20¢/minute.

• Elysium Internet Cafe, 7875 Sahara Ave, #101, 702-307-4931. [2] $3/hr, or connect to wifi for free!

Stay Safe

Given all the gambling and its lure of easy money, Las Vegas attracts a small unsavory element. Some desperate people wind up here who are willing to do desperate things, like rob you, to get money. Be vigilant, and do not leave any valuables visible in your car. If you are lucky enough to win a large jackpot, you can ask the casino to hold your winnings in its safe, or to pay you with a check, to avoid carrying a large amount of money. If you insist on your winnings in cash, all casinos will have security personnel escort you to your car, room, etc upon request.

Major casinos are generally very safe; casinos take security seriously and have security cameras as well as uniformed and plainclothes security personnel roaming at all times.

Despite the advertising slogan What happens here, stays here, Las Vegas has laws that are enforced as in any other American city. For example, drunk driving and illicit drugs are not tolerated and will result in arrest. Prostitution is likewise illegal in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, although it is legal at licensed brothels in some rural counties of Nevada. The closest legal brothels to Las Vegas are located in the town of Pahrump, some 60 miles (100 km) to the west.

Remain vigilant while driving. Las Vegas Boulevard ("The Strip") is notorious for fenderbenders and other collisions, due the amount of stop and go traffic and the numerous distractions (pirates, volcanoes, etc) offered to drivers. Many people are also driving intoxicated as well; Nevada has an unusually high frequency of traffic deaths with alcohol involved, and most of them happen in and near this city.

Expect extremely low humidity and temperatures above 40°C (104°F) May through September. Bring sunscreen and wear loose, light-colored clothing that substantially blocks sunlight. Avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of fluids.