Las
Vegas Strip
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The
Las Vegas Strip (also known as The Strip) is an
approximately 4 mile (6.4 km) section of Las Vegas
Boulevard South in Paradise and Winchester, Nevada,
south of the Las Vegas city limits. Most of "The
Strip" has been designated an All-American
Road.
Many
of the largest hotel, casino and resort properties
in the world are located on The Strip. For example,
18 of the 25 largest hotels in the world are on
The Strip.
Over
the years, Las Vegas Boulevard South has been
called Arrowhead Highway, "Salt Lake Highway",
U.S. Highway 91, and Los Angeles Highway. The
Strip was reportedly named by Los Angeles police
officer Guy McAfee, after his hometown's Sunset
Strip.
One
of the most visible aspects of Las
Vegas' cityscape is its use of dramatic themes.
The theming of hotels, casinos, and restaurants
on the Strip has established the city as one of
the most popular destinations for tourists.
Boundaries
In
the strictest sense, "the Strip" refers
only to Las Vegas Boulevard, roughly between Sahara
Avenue and Russell Road, a distance of 4.1 miles
(6.6 km). However, the term is often used to refer
not only to the road but also to the various casinos
and resorts that line the road, and even to properties
which are not on the road but in close proximity.
Certain government agencies, such as the Nevada
Gaming Commission, classify properties as "Las
Vegas Strip" for reporting purposes, although
these definitions can include properties which
are 1 mile (1.6 km) or more away from Las Vegas
Boulevard (such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino).
Phrases such as Strip Area, Resort Corridor or
Resort District are sometimes used to indicate
a larger geographical area.
The
Stratosphere, situated 0.25 miles (0.40 km) north
of Sahara, is often included in the Resort Corridor.
At one time, the southern end of the Corridor
was considered to end at Tropicana Avenue, but
continuing construction has extended this, first
to Russell Road, then to Sunset Road and now all
the way to I-215. Mandalay Bay is located just
north of Russell Road, with the Bali Hai Golf
Club located just south of Russell Road. Town
Square, a substantial new shopping development,
is situated in the last remaining space north
of I-215.
Because
of the number and size of the resorts, the Resort
Corridor can be quite wide. Interstate 15 runs
roughly parallel and 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2
km) to the west of Las Vegas Boulevard for the
entire length of the Strip. Paradise Road runs
to the east in a similar fashion, and ends at
East St. Louis Avenue. The eastern side of the
Strip is bounded by McCarran Airport south of
Tropicana Avenue. North of this point, the Resort
Corridor can be considered to extend as far east
as Paradise Road, although some consider Koval
Lane as a less inclusive boundary. Interstate
15 is sometimes considered the western edge of
the Resort Corridor from Interstate 215 to Spring
Mountain Road. North of this point, Industrial
Road serves as the western edge. Some resorts
such as The Rio and the The Palms are actually
west of Interstate 15, so a more inclusive definition
might extend west to Valley View Boulevard or
Arville Street.
The
famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign is located
in the median just south of Russell Road; another
similar sign is in the median at the north end
of the Strip near the intersection of east St.
Louis and south Main Streets.
History
The
first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the
Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931; the first on what is
today's Strip was the El Rancho Vegas, opening
on April 3, 1941 with 63 rooms and standing for
almost 20 years before being destroyed by fire
in 1960. Its success spawned a second hotel on
what would become The Strip, the Hotel Last Frontier,
in 1942. The Flamingo opened a few years later,
on December 26, 1946.
In
1968, Kirk Kerkorian purchased the Flamingo and
hired Sahara Hotels Vice President Alex Shoofey
as President. Alex Shoofey brought along 33 of
Sahara's top executives. The Flamingo was used
to train future employees of the International
Hotel, which was under construction. Opening in
1969, the International Hotel, with 1,512 rooms,
became the largest hotel in the world, and began
the era of mega-resorts. The International is
known as the Las Vegas Hilton today.
The
first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, also a Kerkorian
property, opened in 1973 with 2,084 rooms. At
the time, this was the largest hotel in the world
by number of rooms. On November 21, 1980, the
MGM Grand suffered the worst resort fire in the
history of Las Vegas, killing 87 people as a result
of electrical problems. It reopened eight months
later. In 1986, Kerkorian sold the MGM Grand to
Bally Manufacturing, and it was renamed Bally's.
The
Wet 'n Wild water park opened in 1985 and was
located on the south side of the Sahara hotel.
The park closed at the end of the 2004 season
and was later demolished.
The
opening of The Mirage in 1989 set a new level
to the Las Vegas experience, as smaller hotels
and casinos made way for the larger mega-resorts.
These huge facilities offer entertainment and
dining options, as well as gambling and lodging.
This change impacted the smaller, well-known and
now historic hotels and casinos, like The Dunes,
The Sands and the Stardust.
In
1995, following the death of Dean
Martin, the lights along the strip were dimmed
in a sign of respect to him. In 2005, Clark County
renamed a section of Industrial Road (south of
Twain Avenue) as Dean Martin Drive, also as a
tribute to the famous Rat Pack singer, actor,
and frequent Las Vegas entertainer.
In
an effort to attract families, resorts offered
more attractions geared toward youth, but had
limited success. The (current) MGM Grand opened
in 1993 with Grand Adventures amusement park,
but the park closed in 2000 due to lack of interest.
Similarly, in 2003 Treasure Island closed its
own video arcade and abandoned the previous pirate
theme, adopting the new ti name.
Downtown
Las Vegas hotels and casinos suffered heavily
from the Strip's boom. They have funneled money
into remodeling the facades of casinos, adding
additional security and new attractions, like
the Fremont Street Experience and Neonopolis (complete
with movie theaters).
In
addition to the large hotels, casinos and resorts,
The Strip is home to a few smaller casinos, motels
and other attractions, such as M&M World,
Adventuredome and the Fashion Show Mall. Starting
in the mid-1990s, The Strip became a popular New
Year's Eve celebration destination.
In
2004, MGM Mirage announced plans for Project CityCenter,
a 66-acre (600,000 m²), $7 billion multi-use
project on the site of the Boardwalk hotel and
adjoining land. It will consist of hotel, casino,
condo, retail and other uses on the site. When
completed, City Center will be the largest such
complex in the world. Construction began in April
2006, and the first elements of this project are
expected to be available in 2009.
In
2006, the Las Vegas Strip lost its longtime status
as the world's highest- rossing gambling center,
falling to second place behind Macau.
Transportation
While
not on The Strip itself, the Las Vegas Monorail
runs on the east side of The Strip from Tropicana
Avenue to Sahara Road.
CAT
Bus provides service on the strip with double
decker buses known as The Deuce. The Deuce stops
at most major resorts and continues north to downtown
and the Fremont Street Experience. A current list
of fares is available.
A
tourist trolley service travels up and down The
Strip and stops at various, but not all, Strip
hotels, along with a stop at the Fashion Show
Mall. The fare is $2.00 for a one way ride, regardless
how far you travel down the strip. Alternatively,
a 24-hour pass is $5, and exact change is required.
Trolleys are scheduled to arrive every 15 minutes.
Two
small, free cable-pulled trams operate on the
Strip. One runs between Treasure Island and The
Mirage, while the other provides service to Mandalay
Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur.
Taxis
can only stop at hotel entrances or designated
spots, so when planning to get somewhere ask which
is the closest hotel.
Before
CAT Bus came on in 1992, mass transit on the Strip
was provided by a private transit company, Las
Vegas Transit. The Strip route was their only
profitable route and supported the whole bus system.
Las
Vegas Strip Hotels
Bellagio
· Caesars Palace · Circus Circus
· Excalibur · Luxor · Mandalay
Bay · THEhotel at Mandalay Bay ·
Mirage · Monte Carlo · New York-New
York · Slots-A-Fun · Stratosphere
· Treasure Island
CityCenter (2009) · Cosmopolitan (2009)
· Echelon Place (2010) · Plaza Hotel
(2011)
East side Bally's · Bill's · Casino
Royale · Flamingo · Harrah's ·
Imperial Palace · MGM Grand · O'Sheas
· Palazzo · Paris · Planet
Hollywood · Riviera · Sahara ·
Tropicana · Venetian · Wynn
Encore (2009) · Fontainebleau (2009) (Credit:
Wikipedia).
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