Jump to content

Las Vegas Strip

Route map:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Wham2001 (talk | contribs) at 15:40, 14 October 2018 (Reverted 1 edit by 99.190.136.211 (talk): Non-sequiter. (TW)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Las Vegas Strip
The Strip
South Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas Boulevard
Bellagio
MGM Grand
Paris Las Vegas
New York-New York Hotel and Casino
Caesars Palace
The Venetian Las Vegas
Length4.2 mi (6.8 km)
Coordinates36°07′11″N 115°10′21″W / 36.119684°N 115.172599°W / 36.119684; -115.172599
South endRussell Road
North endSahara Avenue

The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip is approximately 4.2 miles (6.8 km) in length,[1] located immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. However, the Strip is often referred to as being in Las Vegas.

Many of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world are located on the Strip. The boulevard's cityscape is highlighted by its use of contemporary architecture, lights, and a wide variety of attractions. Its hotels, casinos, restaurants, residential high-rises, entertainment offerings, and skyline have established the Strip as one of the most popular and iconic tourist destinations in the world.[2] Most of the Strip has also been designated as an All-American Road[3][4] and is considered a scenic route at night.[5]

Boundaries

Looking north, 2013
Looking south

Historically, the casinos that were not in Downtown Las Vegas along Fremont Street were limited to outside the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard. In 1959, the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was constructed exactly 4.5 miles (7.2 km) outside the city limits. The sign is today located in the median just south of Russell Road, across from the now-demolished Klondike Hotel & Casino, about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) south of the southernmost entrance to Mandalay Bay (the southernmost casino).[6]

In the strictest sense, "the Strip" refers only to the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is roughly between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road, a distance of 4.2 miles (6.8 km).[7][8] 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 that are not on the road but are in proximity to it. Phrases such as Strip Area, Resort Corridor or Resort District are sometimes used to indicate a larger geographical area, including properties 1 mile (1.6 km) or more away from Las Vegas Boulevard, such as the Hard Rock, Rio, Palms, and Hooters casinos.

A long-standing definition considers the Strip's northern terminus as the SLS, though travel guides typically extend it to include the Stratosphere 0.4 miles (0.64 km) to the north. Mandalay Bay, located just north of Russell Road, is the southernmost resort considered to be on the Strip (the Klondike was the southernmost until 2006, when it was closed, although it was not included in the Strip on some definitions and travel guides).

Because of the number and size of the resorts, the resort corridor can be quite wide. Interstate 15 runs roughly parallel and 0.5 to 0.8 miles (0.80 to 1.29 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 St. Louis Avenue. The eastern side of the Strip is bounded by McCarran International 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.

Newer hotels and resorts such as South Point, Grandview Resort, and M Resort are on Las Vegas Boulevard South as distant as 8 miles south of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Marketing for these casinos usually states that they are on southern Las Vegas Boulevard and not "Strip" properties.

Southern half of Las Vegas Strip at night with CityCenter construction on the bottom right, 2007
Southern half of Las Vegas Strip at night with CityCenter construction on the bottom right, 2007
Las Vegas Strip from the south east, 2012
Las Vegas Strip from the south east, 2012

History

Early years (1930s–1990s)

The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931, but the first resort on what is currently the Strip was the El Rancho Vegas, opening on April 3, 1941, with 63 rooms. That casino/ resort stood for almost 20 years before being destroyed by a fire in 1960. Its success spawned a second hotel on what would become the Strip, the Hotel Last Frontier in 1942. Organized crime figures such as New York's Bugsy Siegel took interest in the growing gaming center leading to other resorts such as the Flamingo, which opened in 1946, and the Desert Inn, which opened in 1950. The funding for many projects was provided through the American National Insurance Company, which was based in the then notorious gambling empire of Galveston, Texas.[9][10]

The Strip in the 1940s. Pictured is the gas station of the Hotel Last Frontier, the second hotel on the Strip.

Las Vegas Boulevard South was previously called Arrowhead Highway, or Los Angeles Highway. The Strip was named by Los Angeles police officer and businessman Guy McAfee, after his hometown's Sunset Strip.[11]

Caesars Palace was established in 1966. 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, began the era of mega-resorts. The International is known as Westgate Las Vegas today. The first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, also a Kerkorian property, opened in 1973 with 2,084 rooms. At the time, this was one of the largest hotels in the world by number of rooms. The Rossiya Hotel built in 1967 in Moscow, for instance, had 3,200 rooms; however, most of the rooms in the Rossiya Hotel were single rooms of 118 sq. ft (roughly 1/4 size of a standard room at the MGM Grand Resort). On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand suffered the worst resort fire in the history of Las Vegas as a result of electrical problems, killing 87 people. 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. It 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. The Rio and the Excalibur opened in 1990. These huge facilities offer entertainment and dining options, as well as gambling and lodging. This change affected the smaller, well-known and now historic hotels and casinos, like The Dunes, The Sands, the Stardust, and the Sahara.

The lights along the Strip have been dimmed in a sign of respect to six performers and one other major Las Vegas figure upon their deaths. They are Elvis Presley (1977), Sammy Davis Jr. (1990),[12] Dean Martin (1995), George Burns (1996), Frank Sinatra (1998), former UNLV basketball head coach Jerry Tarkanian (2015),[13] and Don Rickles (2017).[14] The Strip lights were dimmed later in 2017 as a memorial to victims of a mass shooting at a concert held adjacent to the Strip.[15] 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 MGM Grand Adventures Theme 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.[16]

In addition to the large hotels, casinos and resorts, the Strip is home to a few smaller casinos and other attractions, such as M&M's World, Adventuredome and the Fashion Show Mall. Starting in the mid-1990s, the Strip became a popular New Year's Eve celebration destination.

Recent years (2000–present)

Four-segment panorama of The Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace (left to right) from the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Bellagio fountains.
Gondolas outside of The Venetian.

With the opening of Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn and Encore resorts, the strip trended towards the luxurious high end segment through most of the 2000s, while some older resorts added major expansions and renovations, including some de-theming of the earlier themed hotels. High end dining, specialty retail, spas and nightclubs increasingly became options for visitors in addition to gambling at most Strip resorts. There was also a trend towards expensive residential condo units on the strip.

In 2004, MGM Mirage announced plans for CityCenter, a 66-acre (27 ha), $7 billion multi-use project on the site of the Boardwalk hotel and adjoining land. It consists of hotel, casino, condo, retail, art, business and other uses on the site. City Center is currently the largest such complex in the world. Construction began in April 2006, with most elements of the project opened in late 2009. Also in 2006, the Las Vegas Strip lost its longtime status as the world's highest-grossing gambling center, falling to second place behind Macau.[17]

In 2012, the High Roller Ferris wheel and a retail district called The LINQ Promenade broke ground, in an attempt to diversify attractions beyond that of casino resorts. Renovations and rebrandings such as The Cromwell Las Vegas and the SLS Las Vegas continued to transform The Strip in 2014. The Las Vegas Festival Grounds opened in 2015. In 2016, the T-Mobile Arena, The Park, and the Park Theatre opened.

On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred on the Strip at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, adjacent to the Mandalay Bay hotel. This incident became the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history.[18]

The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is undergoing a two-year, $450 million makeover into the Park MGM and is nearly complete.

Smaller changes and developments are taking place as well.[19]

Future developments

CityCenter Las Vegas

Transportation

The Las Vegas Monorail.

RTC Transit (previously Citizens Area Transit, or CAT) provides bus service on the Strip with double decker buses known as The Deuce. The Deuce runs between Mandalay Bay at the southern end of the Strip (and to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and South Strip Transfer Terminal after midnight) to the Bonneville Transit Center (BTC) and the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas, with stops near every casino. RTC also operates an express bus called the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX). This route connects the Strip to the Las Vegas Convention Center and Downtown Las Vegas to the north, with stops at selected hotels and shopping attractions (Las Vegas Premium Outlets North & South).

While not on the Strip itself, the Las Vegas Monorail runs on the east side of the Strip corridor from Tropicana Avenue to Sahara Avenue.[30]

Several free trams operate on the west side of the Strip:

Prior to CAT bus service beginning operations 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.[citation needed]

Pedestrian traffic

The Strip traffic during the day, looking north from the MGM Grand. The strip has a number of pedestrian footbridges.

Concerning pedestrian safety and to help alleviate traffic congestion at popular intersections, several pedestrian footbridges were erected in 1990s. Some feature designs that match the theme of the nearby resorts. The Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard footbridges were the first to be installed, and based on the success of this project additional footbridges have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard at the Flamingo Road intersection connecting Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Bally's, and The Cromwell; between The Mirage/Treasure Island and The Venetian, and at the Las Vegas Boulevard-Spring Mountain and Sands Avenue intersection connecting the Wynn with the Fashion Show Mall, The Palazzo and Treasure Island. The latest to be completed connects Planet Hollywood, CityCenter and The Cosmopolitan at the Harmon Avenue intersection.[31]

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's annual Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study, only 36% of people said they walked around the Strip, a figure that is a drop from 2013 (52%).[citation needed]

Attractions on the Strip

Golf

Wynn Golf and Country Club

In 2000, Bali Hai Golf Club opened just south of Mandalay Bay and the Strip.[32]

As land values on the Strip have increased over the years, the resort-affiliated golf courses been removed to make way for building projects. The Tropicana Country Club closed in 1990[33] and the Dunes golf course in the mid-90s. Steve Wynn, founder of previously owned Mirage Resorts, purchased the Desert Inn and golf course for his new company Wynn Resorts and redeveloped the course as the Wynn Golf Club. This course closed in 2017. The Aladdin also had a nine-hole golf course in the 1960's.[34]

In 2016, a TopGolf opened near the Strip.[35]

Amusement parks and rides

The strip is home to many amusement parks and rides. These include:

Shopping

The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace

Entertainment

Nevada National Guard assist with New Year's Eve security

The Las Vegas Strip is well known for its lounges, showrooms, theaters and nightclubs;[38] most of the attractions and shows on the Strip are located on the hotel casino properties. Some of the more popular free attractions visible from the Strip include the water fountains at Bellagio, the volcano at The Mirage, and the Fall of Atlantis and Festival Fountain at Caesars Palace. There are several Cirque du Soleil shows, such as at the MGM Grand, O at Bellagio, Mystère at Treasure Island, Zumanity (for ages 18 and older) at New York-New York, Criss Angel Mindfreak at the Luxor, and Michael Jackson: One at Mandalay Bay.[39]

Many notable artists have performed in Las Vegas, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Wayne Newton, Liza Minnelli, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Liberace,[40] and in more recent years Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Barry Manilow, Cher, Elton John, Bette Midler, Donny and Marie Osmond, Garth Brooks, Jennifer Lopez, Reba McEntire, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Criss Angel, Olivia Newton-John and Queen + Adam Lambert have had residencies in the various resorts on the Strip. The only movie theatre directly on the Strip was the 10-screen Regal Showcase Theatre in the Showcase Mall. The theater opened in 1997 and was operated by Regal Entertainment Group,[41] until its closure in 2018.[42]

Venues

The Strip is home to many entertainment venues. Most of the resorts have a showroom, nightclub and/or live music venue on the property and a few have large multipurpose arenas. Major venues include:

Locations of major landmarks

Current landmarks

North towards Fremont Street

Stratosphere Las Vegas Boulevard
Aztec Inn
Lucky Dragon, Allure, Bonanza Gift Shop
Sahara Avenue Sahara Avenue
Festival Grounds SLS
Hilton Grand Vacations All Net (construction)
Sky
Circus Circus Drew (construction), Turnberry
Slots-A-Fun Convention Center (planned)
Resorts World (construction) Guardian Angel Cathedral
Desert Inn Road Desert Inn Road
Trump, Wynn West (planned) Encore
Fashion Show Mall Wynn, Wynn Paradise Park (construction)
Spring Mountain Road Sands Avenue
Treasure Island Palazzo, Sands Expo
Venetian, MSG Sphere (construction)
Mirage Casino Royale
Harrah's
Linq, High Roller
Flamingo
Caesars Palace Cromwell, Westin
Flamingo Road Flamingo Road
Bellagio Bally's
Paris
Planet Hollywood
Vdara, Cosmopolitan Harmon Corner, Elara
Harmon Avenue Harmon Avenue
Veer, Crystals Grand Chateau, Signature
Aria, Waldorf Astoria
Park MGM Showcase Mall
T-Mobile Arena, New York-New York MGM Grand
Tropicana Avenue Tropicana Avenue
Excalibur Tropicana, Hooters
Luxor Las Vegas Village
Delano, Mandalay Bay Skyvue (abandoned)
Russell Road Little Church of the West

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign

South towards Interstate 215

Former hotel/casino locations

North towards Fremont Street

Vegas World/Million Dollar Casino Las Vegas Boulevard
Jackpot Casino/Money Tree Casino Holy Cow/Foxy's Firehouse
Sahara Avenue Sahara Avenue
El Rancho Vegas Sahara/Club Bingo
Wet 'n Wild
Thunderbird/Silverbird/El Rancho, Algiers Hotel
Riviera
Westward Ho La Concha Motel
Silver City/Riata
Stardust/Royal Nevada
Desert Inn Road Desert Inn Road
Silver Slipper/Golden Slipper
New Frontier/Last Frontier/Frontier Desert Inn
Spring Mountain Road Sands Avenue
Sands
Castaways Nob Hill Casino
Holiday Casino, Holiday Inn
Flamingo Capri/Imperial Palace/Quad
O'Sheas Casino
Barbary Coast/Bill's
Flamingo Road Flamingo Road
Dunes MGM Grand
Aladdin/Tally Ho/King's Crown
Boardwalk/Mandarin Oriental
Monte Carlo Harmon Avenue
Marina
Tropicana Avenue Tropicana Avenue
Hacienda
Russell Road Glass Pool Inn
Klondike/Kona Kai

South towards Interstate 215

Demolished or closed Strip casinos and hotels

See also

References

  1. ^ "Overview of the Las Vegas Strip" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  2. ^ Lukas, Scott A. (2007). "Theming as a Sensory Phenomenon: Discovering the Senses on the Las Vegas Strip". In Scott A. Lukas (ed.). The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nation, and Self. Lexington Books. pp. 75–95. ISBN 0-7391-2142-1.
  3. ^ "U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Downey Announces New All-American Roads, National Scenic Byways in 20 States" (Press release). Federal Highway Administration. June 15, 2000. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  4. ^ "Las Vegas Strip Named All-American Road" (Press release). Archived from the original on June 12, 2006. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  5. ^ "Scenic Byways". Scenicnevada.org. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Alia, K. (August 14, 2015). "Las Vegas Escorts, Strippers, Erotic Massages". Hustling.net. Adult Classifieds. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  7. ^ Joe Schoenmann (February 3, 2010). "Vegas not alone in wanting in on .vegas". Las Vegas Sun.
  8. ^ "County Turns 100 July 1, Dubbed 'Centennial Day'" (Press release). Clark County, Nevada. June 23, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  9. ^ Newton, Michael (2009). Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz. McFarland. pp. 40–41. ISBN 9780786453627.
  10. ^ Rothman, Hal (2003). Neon metropolis: how Las Vegas started the twenty-first century. Routledge. p. 16. ISBN 9780415926133.
  11. ^ "Las Vegas: An Unconventional History". American Experience. PBS. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
  12. ^ "Lights to Dim On Vegas Strip in Memory of Entertainer With AM-Sammy Davis Jr". Associated Press. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  13. ^ "UNLV honors Jerry Tarkanian". ESPN. Associated Press. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  14. ^ "Strip Lights Dimmed In Fitting Tribute To Rickles". Norm.Vegas. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  15. ^ Apgar, Blake (October 9, 2017). "Watch the Las Vegas Strip marquees go dark". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  16. ^ "Treasure Island Show Symbolizes New Era for Strip Resort" (Press release). Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Barboza, David (January 24, 2007). "Asian Rival Moves Past Las Vegas". The New York Times.
  18. ^ Hernandez, Dan; McCarthy, Tom; McGowan, Michael (October 2, 2017). "Mandalay Bay attack: at least 50 killed in America's deadliest mass shooting". the Guardian. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  19. ^ "Vegas4Visitors – Coming Soon". Vegas4visitors.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  20. ^ Velotta, Richard N. (June 3, 2016). "Monte Carlo will transform to Park MGM in $450M makeover". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  21. ^ "Work on Steve Wynn's Paradise Park to begin late '17 or early '18". Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  22. ^ "County OKs expanded plans for arena on Las Vegas Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  23. ^ "Redesign pushes Resorts World Las Vegas opening date to 2020". LasVegasSun.com. May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  24. ^ "LV Sands commits $75 million to MSG Sphere arena project". LasVegasSun.com. July 19, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  25. ^ "Fontainebleau on Las Vegas Strip has new name and opening date". Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  26. ^ "Wynn to move quickly to build new Las Vegas Strip hotel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 22, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  27. ^ "Golden Entertainment to invest $140M in Stratosphere". Las Vegas Review-Journal. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  28. ^ "Site of stalled SkyVue observation wheel for sale on the south Strip". VegasInc.com. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  29. ^ "Half-price sale: Vacant land on north Strip — $16M an acre". September 5, 2014.
  30. ^ Garcia, Oskar (March 11, 2011). "Frugal travel: Vegas offers fun at low stakes". San Jose Mercury News. Associated Press. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  31. ^ Nordahl, Darrin (2002). The Architecture of Mobility: Enhancing the Urban Experience Along the Las Vegas Strip. University of California, Berkeley.
  32. ^ Moran, Craig (August 2, 2010). "Money-losing golf club may become industrial park". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  33. ^ http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/0EAEA859D997D928?p=AWNB
  34. ^ https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/las-vegas-nevadamilton-prells-aladdin-hotelgolf-course-country-club1969-pc/16538908
  35. ^ "Topgolf will develop multimillion-dollar, three-level center in Overland Park". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  36. ^ Hubble Smith (September 30, 2011). "Portion of Showcase mall sold for $93.5 million". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  37. ^ "New York-New York, Monte Carlo To Be Transformed Into Park-Like District". VegasChatter. April 18, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  38. ^ "Las Vegas Nightclubs". Las Vegas Nightclubs. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  39. ^ Glusac, Elaine (September 14, 2007). "The Unlikely All-Ages Appeal of Las Vegas". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  40. ^ "The 25 Greatest Headliners in Las Vegas History". Las Vegas Weekly.
  41. ^ "Showcase Theater". Fandango.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  42. ^ Millward, Wade Tyler (January 24, 2018). "Las Vegas Strip's only movie theater closes". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  43. ^ Geer, Carri (May 25, 1998). "CBS Broadcasting, casino settle in trademark dispute". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  44. ^ "Las Vegas Little Caesar's Casino Chips including the Sports Book Chips". Oldvegaschips.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.

Further reading

KML is from Wikidata