Speaking of American cities with a reputation for being associated with crime, the circumstances of
Speaking of American cities with a reputation for being associated with crime, the circumstances of how Las Vegas became… y’know, LAS VEGAS were themselves kind of interesting.Founded relatively recently in 1905, originally Las Vegas operated as a stop-over on the railway between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. It stayed this relatively small size until the early 1930s with the construction of the nearby Boulder (later Hoover) Dam.Because the size of the construction project meant that there were literally thousands of workers wandering around with nothing to do, the decision was made to legalise gambling to both provide the workers with entertainment and to also provide a source of income for the town in the process.Now, there were casinos operating in Las Vegas prior to the March 1931 decision to legalise it, but upon it’s legalisation there was a prompt explosion in the amount of casinos, bars and theatres in the city offering entertainment to the many visiting construction workers. Many of these theatres and casinos were owned and operated by the Mob, such as, famously, Bugsy Siegal, but interestingly the anti-gambling Church of Latter Days Saints have also had a strong presence in the city and in the establishment of its many casinos.Side-Fact: For a city that’s gained a reputation as a holiday destination and entertainment centre, one of the most odd (and dangerous) offerings on display for visitors and guests came in the early 1950s with the advent of Atomic Tourism.This basically being when you could just drive into the desert to see the US military detonate atomic bombs from relative safety, or even drink a cocktail from a hotel as you see the blasts go off in the distance.Yes, this was a thing. And yes, there were people operating bus tours for people wanting to see the blasts up relatively close. Additionally, due to Las Vegas being Las Vegas, there was also a beauty test themed around the nuclear testing, with the final winner being a Lee Merlin who was crowned Miss Atomic Bomb in May 1957. Above ground atomic testing was banned by international treaty a few years later with the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1962. -- source link
#irregular incidents#construction#tourism#atomic testing#american history#history