Only in Vegas

Replicated natural wonders of the world, indoor man-made waterfalls, simulated pirate ship battles, a dolphin habitat, and indoor gondola rides are a few of the small attractions that place modern day Las Vegas as a hotspot on the US map. In fact, there are so many small attractions blended with large attractions that the experience of Las Vegas itself has become an attraction. Disregarding traditional methods and exploring outrageous ideas in the areas of engineering, architecture, and planning, this city has become a very accepted destination that has become a marketing phenomenon.For a city that is in the middle of nowhere, it has a made quite an impression on the people it draws. It is no surprise that this city has had a history of prosperity and boom. The first main draw of the area known as Las Vegas was water. Water was not in over abundance compared to other cities, but the mere presence of spring water was a marvel for that region of the Mojave Desert. In the late 1820†™s, explorers on the Old Spanish Trail went into unexplored areas searching for the very thing that area known Las Vegas had to offer them, water.Water in the area had produced vegetation, and Las Vegas apparently flourished with it. The presence of water positioned Las Vegas on the map of the Old Spanish Trail. It shortened the path between Santa Fe and Los Angeles, and became a marked location on this increasingly traveled route. This area is repeatedly referred to as an oasis: Las Vegas was named accordingly, as its meaning in Spanish is â€Å"The Meadows. † Minerals were rich in the area, and according to local government history, Mining began in the late 1800’s.This, the railroad boom in the 1900’s, and a man name William Clark led to railroads being placed through the prime spot of Las Vegas because of its location between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, the climate of the general area, and of course, its abundance of water and vegetation among the vast desert. Railroads required workers, and workers required the usual: a place to sleep, eat, and of course, drink and seek entertainment. This led to the earliest of saloons and markets, building toward a city.According to the City of Las Vegas government, â€Å"Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and 5th Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, are auctioned off. † This auction allowed for more relocation of people into the town. â€Å"In 1911 a gas plant, power company, and telephone system were projected† (Durnke 263). Las Vegas was starting to grow. â€Å"The modern attitude of Las Vegas, along with the rest of the American West, favors more exclusiveness.In March, 1909, the Las Vegas Promotion Society was organized at a citizens' meeting attended by fifty persons at the Opera House. ‘ Its purpose, as stated in the opening res olutions, was to make known Las Vegas' resources and to encourage new enterprises and industries† (Durnke 264). Shortly after, a city government was formed, and railroads and mining continued. Later, in 1931, construction of the Hoover Dam began and led to a further influx of workers. The population was estimated according to Clark County records to stand around 8000 between the period of the completion of the Hoover Dam in 1935 and 1940.Water, convenience, and work led people into this city prior to 1931. Later, with World War II under way, many military installations were established in the desert due to its attractive resources, including its low-priced energy available from the Hoover Dam. Defense industry was started, and a further opportunity for workers emerged. After the war was over, the post industrial society took advantage of the amenities offered by Las Vegas, and the entrepreneurs did the same. Gambling had previously been around in many states. It managed to rec eive a discerning reputation in the public eye. There were moral issues, and scandals involved.States were hot and cold with respect to certain types of gaming and lotteries; this eventually led to prohibition in 1910. Nevada officially legalized gambling in 1931. This was at the time when the construction of the Hoover Dam began. Nevada capitalized on the expected tourism that the Hoover Dam would bring. They capitalized very well. Entrepreneurs saw the enormous returns on gambling as a great opportunity to develop casino and hotels. They did just that, and followed an immediate boom in tourism, especially from California, where gambling was illegal, but the desire to do so was very prominent.Profits from gambling funded the elaborate themes and designs of Las Vegas attractions. Service industries arose from their inevitable need, and the marketing of Las Vegas was underway. Tourism became the niche that Las Vegas acquired. In fact, the number of tourists according to the 2009 Exec utive Summary was just under 36. 5 Million in 2009, down 3% from 2008. This small drop in tourism appears to have been heavily due to decreases early in the 2009 year, and has actually risen in the past 4 months of 2009. While tourism has risen since 2000, the population has risen as well.In 2000, according to the US Government Census, the population for Las Vegas and the surrounding metropolitan areas was over 1. 3 million and it is estimated that the 2008 population was over 1. 8 million. In the City alone, the 2000 population was 478,434 compared to the 2008 estimate of 558,383. Tourism is the main focus of Las Vegas, and it has had problems along with solutions to ensure that tourism remains high. One of the largest problems with Las Vegas was not that tourism was very high, but extremely seasonal and high at only peak times. Las Vegas used a superior marketing strategy that ensured its survival in the non-peak season.The Las Vegas Convention Center was built to attract visitors during these seasons of slow times. This ensured services offered by businesses a year round opportunity. The attempt to build consistency was a success. Many factors allowed for the convention center to become an ideal site for conventions and seminars. Among these were the desire to be in Las Vegas, the climate, landscape, incentives, inexpensive flights, rooms and convenience of transportation. This strategy to maximize occupancy year round has led to an 81. 5% occupancy rate year round in 2009 alone.Furthermore, having consistent visitors has allowed Las Vegas to offer permanent entertainment and resident performers. This has additionally furthered tourism. Another problem that Las Vegas has encountered is the deterioration of its downtown. Las Vegas was built on money and ideas, as long as both are around, newer and better things will come. â€Å"In he nearly 50 years since Bugsy Siegel built the Flamingo Casino, Las Vegas has indeed become a place unlike anything ever seen b efore- a city relentlessly reinventing itself as a caricature of itself, constantly trying to out-Vegas Vegas† (Goodman 91).This was apparent in the downtown of Las Vegas and something needed to be done about it. The Freemont Street Experience was introduced, and brought some life back to downtown. â€Å"In a further attempt to conquer the elements, a 100ft-high-canopy, called the ‘celestial vault’ has been erected over the city’s main street as part of a downtown revitalization project† (Goodman 88) This revitalization is a strategy to attract more attention back to this area. Cheaper rates in different areas have allowed Las Vegas to target all groups of people based on income.They have more recently targeted the college crowd for spring break. â€Å"‘We've been getting a relatively younger crowd down here on Fremont Street because they're beginning to discover we're here,’ said Golden Gate owner Mark Brandenburg. ‘The Fremont S treet Experience is pretty much an all-night party scene with free light shows, music entertainment and it's really an attractive place for spring break’† (Hillgrove 1). More recently, in the past few years, Las Vegas has drawn a more significant of spring breakers than other years. Las Vegas is currently the top destination for travel booked through Travelocity's site, pulling in 9 percent of the tickets booked on Travelocity for March 14 through April 26. In February, Travelocity named Las Vegas one of the ‘Top Eight Value Destinations for Spring Break,’ citing a 5 percent drop in average airfare and a 34 percent drop in average daily room rates from last year. † (1) Much of the downtown area offers these low rates in an attempt to build occupancy and remain open. Downtown is not the boom that it once was, but it remains open and has more plans in the future to continue to do so.It is just one example nationwide what happens to older areas, when bet ter planned modern areas are given the opportunity to develop. â€Å"The next generation of architects would do well to look beyond themed architecture and ironic formalism and to examine the story unfolding behind the neon light. We need to think of our cities not as hollow shells, good only a settings for marketing a fictionalized past, but as places where we can build centers of prosperity for a real future and real people† (Goodman 94).It will be very interesting to see what is in store for the downtown area in the future. Las Vegas does not have as many urbanization problems as one would initially expect for a city with tourism exceeding 36 Million visitors per year. This is probably due to the numerous amounts of suburbs in conjunction with the numerous amounts of ongoing projects. They face problems that any city would face with a large amount of tourism, but they successfully have the money to tend to most immediate problems, or they have accepted them as a way of lif e.According to the 2009 Executive Summary, Clark County had gaming revenues of almost 9 Billion Dollars last year, with just over 6 Billion from the strip and downtown Las Vegas. Apparently the only problems are those that can’t be immediately fixed with money. Ironically, the same thing that the early explorers sought this land for is the same thing that may be its next problem. Water shortage has become an issue due to the large growth of the city. It is estimated that the city and suburbs will reach over 2 million permanent residents by 2020. To meet the looming water crunch, the city, along with the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), proposes to build a 285-mile pipeline to haul groundwater from six valleys in eastern Nevada. The $2 billion project would mean sinking up to 195 production wells as deep as 1700 ft. below the surface to bring more than 50 billion gallons of water per year to the parched desert metropolis† (Hutchinson 1). This has been causing a de bate, and seems to be the biggest problem facing the city at the moment.The question will be whether pumping the water from the ground will be their best solution, or if it will see more heated debate. It seems that water may be the most valuable resource to the west in the near future. It will be interesting to see how a city this size will continue to grow with water shortages, and what lengths the city will go to for the purpose of ensuring this water supply. The city of Las Vegas has much to offer the rest of the world, and is very significant. It is well known across the world due to major publications, events, and movies that are based in Las Vegas.It is a place that can be easily recognized by its elaborate design, luminescent skyline of gorgeous hotels, and distinctive architecture. Las Vegas has set many trends and standards for gourmet dining, intricate theme based settings, and attractive shows. It sites â€Å"14 of the nations 15 largest hotels† according to the C lark County Government, and is also a very popular place to have anything from an inexpensive and quick wedding to one fit for a queen. It really is known as a place where anything can happen.Many other States have used the model of Las Vegas to design certain areas of their cities. The gaming model for instance has shown to be successful, and many new towns are opening up to lotteries and casinos simply to issue jobs and retain wealth for the education and the state and city. Ohio is an example of one of these recent candidates. This model is not only hoping to create jobs, but also influence and expansion of other service industries that can produce income and stimulate the local economies. Las Vegas is home of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also known as UNLV.Las Vegas lies only 30 minutes from the Hoover Dam, a little over an hour to the Mojave National Preserve, 2 hours to Death Valley National Park, 3 hours to the south cove of Lake Mead, only 4 hours to Los Angeles, and roughly 6 hours to either the Grand Canyon National Park or Phoenix. If you are looking for an adventure, Las Vegas is a great hub to make the first stop on your excursion. Las Vegas is a city thriving on tourism built by money and gambling, but offers much more beyond the realm of casinos. It is an experience. I choose this city because it represents freedom and exploration in a natural form.One can go to Las Vegas and explore freely all it has to offer. One can explore not only the city, but the vast desert around with amazing national attractions waiting miles away. It is a way to experience the west in a fun and comfortable environment with so much perfection and beauty. I have experienced many trips to Las Vegas, and each was unique. I have taken trips for wilderness and exploration, others strictly for music or entertainment. I have gone on business; I have gone to visit friends and socialize. I have learned something about myself and loved it and every time.