A history of Las Vegas in photos: How it transformed from railroad town to a infamous gambling mecca

James PasleyFeb 11, 2023, 04:59 IST

Fremont Street in Las Vegas.Bettmann/Corbis/Getty Images

Las Vegas went from a barren, desert town to a city of bright lights and casinos in a matter of decades.
In 1910, Las Vegas had just 800 residents. By 1972, more than 15 million people were visiting each year.

Before Las Vegas was known for slot machines and neon lights, it was a small desert town without much going for it.

As recently as 1940, Las Vegas only had 8,000 residents. But after World War II, the city expanded rapidly.

Organized crime took advantage of the fact Nevada was the only state in America where casino gambling was legal. They made the city a destination, using celebrity acts, showgirls, and even nuclear testing observation parties to keep people visiting and spending money.

Later, with the help and funding of billionaire Howard Hughes, Las Vegas went straight, but its growth hardly slowed.

Here's how Las Vegas transformed — in a matter of decades — into one of the most iconic cities in the world.

In 1905, the town of Las Vegas was officially settled. This coincided with plans for a railroad that would go through the new town and across the Southwest.

A supply wagon pulled by donkeys in Las Vegas in 1905.Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Las Vegas wasn't an instant success. The boom didn't happen overnight.

The business district on Fremont Street in 1906.Bettmann/Getty Images

For reference, Fremont Street looked like this just over 50 years later.

A general view of Downtown Las Vegas from Fremont Street looking at the Golden Nugget Gambling Hall, The Mint, Pioneer Club, Lucky Strike, The Las Vegas Club and The Hotel Apache circa 1958 in Las Vegas, NevadaPhoto by Hy Peskin/Getty Images

By 1910, the town had 800 residents.

Three men in a store in 1910 in Las Vegas.Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Las Vegas only began to grow properly in the early 1930s. This was because of two major factors — the first was Nevada legalized gambling in 1931.

A woman stands in front of New Western Casino and Boulder Club on Fremont Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada, circa 1940.Robert Alexander/Getty Images

The second was the Hoover Dam. All week, thousands of workers living in Boulder City would work on building the dam. Then when they got paid, they drove straight to Las Vegas.

A dynamite explosion at Hoover Dam in 1933.Bettmann/Getty Images

The second was the Hoover Dam. All week, thousands of workers living in Boulder City would work on building the dam. Then when they got paid, they drove straight to Las Vegas.

Over the next few decades, there were a few key figures who helped rapidly transform Las Vegas. A former crooked Los Angeles vice squad commander named Guy McAfee was the first. He moved to Las Vegas in 1938.

Guy McAfee (L) talking in 1947.Jon Brenneis/Getty Images

Over the next few decades, there were a few key figures who helped rapidly transform Las Vegas. A former crooked Los Angeles vice squad commander named Guy McAfee was the first. He moved to Las Vegas in 1938.

McAfee ran and opened a number of clubs, including most famously the Golden Nugget.

The Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.Dennis Hallinan/Contributor/Getty Images

But perhaps his most important contribution to Las Vegas was calling Highway 91 "the Strip," evoking Los Angeles' famous Sunset Strip.

The Las Vegas Strip in 1958.Claude Jacoby/ullstein bild via Getty Images

By 1940, there were about 8,000 residents in Las Vegas. Here, gamblers play the slot machines.

Gamblers play the slots in a Fremont street Casino in July 1942 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Ivan Dmitri/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In 1941, El Rancho's Vegas opened its doors. This was the first casino-hotel, and according to its sign, it never closed.

A sign showing at night that says El Rancho's Gaming Casino Never Closed.Jon Brenneis/Getty Images

But it was after World War II that Las Vegas really started to become a go-to gambling destination.

Stores on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

In 1945, another key figure, gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, decided to build a casino in Las Vegas. Though growing steadily, it was still a fairly sleepy town with loose gambling laws at this point.

Benny "Bugsy" Siegel, Hollywood night life figure, is shown after being taken from his luxurious Holmby Hills home for questioning in Los Angeles about the gangland slaying of Harry Schachter in Hollywood last Thanksgiving.Bettmann/Getty Images

In 1945, another key figure, gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, decided to build a casino in Las Vegas. Though growing steadily, it was still a fairly sleepy town with loose gambling laws at this point.

According to The New York Times, his plan was to make money off "wartime profiteers from the West Coast as they drank, made hogs of themselves and dared the house odds."

Gamblers watch the wheel of fortune spin in 1935.Bettmann/Getty Images

According to The New York Times, his plan was to make money off "wartime profiteers from the West Coast as they drank, made hogs of themselves and dared the house odds."

He named his casino "The Flamingo" after his girlfriend Virginia Hill, an actress who was called "The Flamingo" because of her long legs.

Playground of the elite, famed Hotel Flamingo, its palm fringed patio one of the most beautiful in the world, is set like a jewel at the edge of the desert as one of Las Vegas' finest lay spots.Bettmann/Getty Images

The Flamingo struggled to begin. Siegel had to use mob funds to keep the doors open. The use of these funds would reportedly later cost him his life.

A gambling table in the Flamingo Casino in 1947.Jon Brenneis/Getty Images

But when the casino began to make a profit, other investors — often mob-related — took note.

Gamblers playing the slot machines at the Nevada Club Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, circa 1955.Pix/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Las Vegas became a popular tourist destination in the 1950s. Here the strip appears teeming in 1953.

Sunset strip in Las Vegas in 1953.Ullstein bild/Getty Images

The sudden increase in popularity was due to a number of factors, including new highways, burgeoning commercial air travel, and air conditioning making the desert heat more bearable.

Gamblers at a roulette table in Las Vegas in 1955.Archive Photos/Getty Images

The sudden increase in popularity was due to a number of factors, including new highways, burgeoning commercial air travel, and air conditioning making the desert heat more bearable.

Throughout this decade and into the 1960s, the number of casinos grew rapidly — the Sands, the Sahara, the New Frontier, and the Riviera all opened.

First skyscraper in Southern Nevada, the nine-story, $8,000,000 Hotel Riviera, opened Wednesday night with Liberace as the star entertainer.Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

The neon lights and signs kept getting bigger. Here, the strip is brightly lit down the Las Vegas strip in 1964.

Nighttime view of pedestrians on the brightly-lit Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 13, 1964.John T. Bledsoe/PhotoQuest/Getty Images

During this period, Las Vegas still had an advantage over the rest of America. Nevada was the only state where it was legal to have gambling casinos. This didn't change until the 1970s.

Gamblers play 'craps' in Las Vegas, Nevada.Alan Band/Fox Photos/Getty Images

During this period, Las Vegas still had an advantage over the rest of America. Nevada was the only state where it was legal to have gambling casinos. This didn't change until the 1970s.

The Mob took advantage of this by "skimming" their profits, meaning they declared less than they earned to the government and kept the difference.

Downtown Las Vegas in the 1960s.H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

To keep the money coming in, casinos started promoting celebrities, including the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

Las Vegas Convention Center's billboard advertising two performances by English rock 'n' roll sensations the Beatles.Bettmann/Getty Images

And using showgirls as a regular form of entertainment.

Las Vegas showgirls sit in the dressing room as they get ready before a show circa 1956 at the Las Vegas Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.Hy Peskin/Getty Images

Between 1951 and 1962, casinos went as far as promoting nuclear testing. This included desert picnics and themed cocktails — the atomic cocktail was made of vodka, sherry, brandy, and champagne.

In this June 1953, file photo, film crews photograph an atom cloud forming after an atomic shell fired a test in the Nevada desert.AP Photo, File

Between 1951 and 1962, casinos went as far as promoting nuclear testing. This included desert picnics and themed cocktails — the atomic cocktail was made of vodka, sherry, brandy, and champagne.

All of this helped keep Las Vegas growing, but the mob's hold on the city couldn't last forever.

This is a view down Fremont Street of the Casino Center in downtown Las Vegas in 1967.Bettmann/Getty Images

In 1966, Las Vegas began to go straight when billionaire Howard Hughes started buying casinos across the city.

Setting at a bank of microphones, multi-millionaire, aviator, film producer and director Howard Hughes answers questions before Congress, Washington DC, August 1947.Alan Band/Keystone/Getty Images

Hughes didn't have to go through the same processes as everyone else.

Las Vegas in 1969.Macha/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Hughes was stopped by the federal government from buying as many casinos as he would have liked, but he did purchase the Frontier, the Sands, the Desert Inn, Castaway, the Silver Slipper Casino, and Landmark casinos.

The Landmark Hotel and CasinoBettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

Hughes was stopped by the federal government from buying as many casinos as he would have liked, but he did purchase the Frontier, the Sands, the Desert Inn, Castaway, the Silver Slipper Casino, and Landmark casinos.

All the while Las Vegas kept growing at a rapid pace. Between 1960 and 1970 the metropolitan area where Las Vegas more than doubled — rising from 127,016 people to 273,288.

The New Frontier Hotel & Casino closes its doors at midnight after 65 years of operation on July 16, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Doubble Troubble/Getty Images

All the while Las Vegas kept growing at a rapid pace. Between 1960 and 1970 the metropolitan area where Las Vegas more than doubled — rising from 127,016 people to 273,288.

By 1972, more than 15 million people were traveling to Las Vegas. It was the fastest growing metropolitan area in America.

A view of downtown Las Vegas (Las Vegas Boulevard and Freemont Street) and the Pioneer Club, Golden Nugget and 4 Queens Hotels in November 1975 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

As Charles Strickland, a second lieutenant, told the New York Times: "Las Vegas is where losers come to win and winners come to lose."

W.C. Pearson emerged the winner of the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas and collected a total of $180,000.Bettmann/Getty Images

By the 1980s, Las Vegas was no longer the only gambling city in America. In 1978, the first casino in Atlantic City opened.

A view of a neon sign graveyard in October 1977 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

But that didn't matter. By then, Las Vegas had transformed from a dusty desert town into the most famous gambling city in the world in a matter of decades

A view of the Las Vegas strip in 1975.Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

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A history of Las Vegas in photos: How it transformed from railroad town to a infamous gambling mecca

In 1905, the town of Las Vegas was officially settled. This coincided with plans for a railroad that would go through the new town and across the Southwest.

Las Vegas wasn't an instant success. The boom didn't happen overnight.

For reference, Fremont Street looked like this just over 50 years later.

By 1910, the town had 800 residents.

Las Vegas only began to grow properly in the early 1930s. This was because of two major factors — the first was Nevada legalized gambling in 1931.

The second was the Hoover Dam. All week, thousands of workers living in Boulder City would work on building the dam. Then when they got paid, they drove straight to Las Vegas.

Over the next few decades, there were a few key figures who helped rapidly transform Las Vegas. A former crooked Los Angeles vice squad commander named Guy McAfee was the first. He moved to Las Vegas in 1938.

McAfee ran and opened a number of clubs, including most famously the Golden Nugget.

But perhaps his most important contribution to Las Vegas was calling Highway 91 "the Strip," evoking Los Angeles' famous Sunset Strip.

By 1940, there were about 8,000 residents in Las Vegas. Here, gamblers play the slot machines.

In 1941, El Rancho's Vegas opened its doors. This was the first casino-hotel, and according to its sign, it never closed.

But it was after World War II that Las Vegas really started to become a go-to gambling destination.

In 1945, another key figure, gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, decided to build a casino in Las Vegas. Though growing steadily, it was still a fairly sleepy town with loose gambling laws at this point.

According to The New York Times, his plan was to make money off "wartime profiteers from the West Coast as they drank, made hogs of themselves and dared the house odds."

He named his casino "The Flamingo" after his girlfriend Virginia Hill, an actress who was called "The Flamingo" because of her long legs.

The Flamingo struggled to begin. Siegel had to use mob funds to keep the doors open. The use of these funds would reportedly later cost him his life.

But when the casino began to make a profit, other investors — often mob-related — took note.

Las Vegas became a popular tourist destination in the 1950s. Here the strip appears teeming in 1953.

The sudden increase in popularity was due to a number of factors, including new highways, burgeoning commercial air travel, and air conditioning making the desert heat more bearable.

Throughout this decade and into the 1960s, the number of casinos grew rapidly — the Sands, the Sahara, the New Frontier, and the Riviera all opened.

The neon lights and signs kept getting bigger. Here, the strip is brightly lit down the Las Vegas strip in 1964.

During this period, Las Vegas still had an advantage over the rest of America. Nevada was the only state where it was legal to have gambling casinos. This didn't change until the 1970s.

The Mob took advantage of this by "skimming" their profits, meaning they declared less than they earned to the government and kept the difference.

To keep the money coming in, casinos started promoting celebrities, including the Beatles and Elvis Presley.

And using showgirls as a regular form of entertainment.

Between 1951 and 1962, casinos went as far as promoting nuclear testing. This included desert picnics and themed cocktails — the atomic cocktail was made of vodka, sherry, brandy, and champagne.

All of this helped keep Las Vegas growing, but the mob's hold on the city couldn't last forever.

In 1966, Las Vegas began to go straight when billionaire Howard Hughes started buying casinos across the city.

Hughes didn't have to go through the same processes as everyone else.

Hughes was stopped by the federal government from buying as many casinos as he would have liked, but he did purchase the Frontier, the Sands, the Desert Inn, Castaway, the Silver Slipper Casino, and Landmark casinos.

All the while Las Vegas kept growing at a rapid pace. Between 1960 and 1970 the metropolitan area where Las Vegas more than doubled — rising from 127,016 people to 273,288.

By 1972, more than 15 million people were traveling to Las Vegas. It was the fastest growing metropolitan area in America.

As Charles Strickland, a second lieutenant, told the New York Times: "Las Vegas is where losers come to win and winners come to lose."

By the 1980s, Las Vegas was no longer the only gambling city in America. In 1978, the first casino in Atlantic City opened.

But that didn't matter. By then, Las Vegas had transformed from a dusty desert town into the most famous gambling city in the world in a matter of decades