Sleazy Old Vegas

Las Vegas has gone through many transformations over the years.  In its pre-Mormon days it was largely a watering hole that served as an excellent oasis in the midst of some of the most tantalizing stretches of the Mojave; water has long been readily available here but it always just out of reach as the vultures circle overhead.  The Colorado flows nearby, these days in the lovely Lake Mead, and the Spring Mountains catch enough Pacific moisture to create lovely forests high above the desert floor.  The Las Vegas valley, however, is a rather desolate affair save for its now long since covered over oasis of greenery.  Lake Mead, as the river before it, is largely just out of sight from most of the valley, and enough haze and distance usually means that the highest mountains are obscured behind some lower barren foothills. 

Still, enterprising souls made settlements here, with the Mormons deciding that there was water enough for a mid-road settlement between Utah and their southern California colonies.  You can still find what is left of their settlement at the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort, which I suppose qualifies as Boring Old Vegas. 

Later on, despite traveling through what they considered to be sheer hell, members of organized crime families decided to make a pleasure paradise out of the otherwise in-the-middle-of-nowhere desert valley.  They took advantage of some rather loose gambling laws, as well as an influx of workers headed to various government projects in the area, starting with Hoover Dam.  In the 1960's, some of the reputation for illegal activities and sleaze in general started to wear off after entertainers like the Rat Pack and Elvis Presley had made their mark on the city.  By this time the place had also earned a reputation as a place to find, heh, easy romance...

Just picture one of those carnival ride signs saying "you must be this drunk to enter".

Most of what remains of Sleazy Old Vegas is near the old downtown, halfway between the new Strip and the revitalized old casinos.  Most of this would be some sort of structure relating to the passionate side of town, including cheap hourly rate motels, tiny wedding chapels with licensed rather than ordained ministers, pawn shops, including the famous Pawn Stars shop which is usually crammed full of people and something that so many on the internet consider to be a hoax (its not), and a lot of bail bond places. 

Most of this seems to be crammed only off the beaten path, however, because as was mentioned before, Las Vegas is constantly in a state of transformation in order to better swallow up your money.  After Elvis had immortalized the place with Ann-Margret and (gasp) women starting coming to the place, the first themed casinos on the southern end of Las Vegas boulevard started popping up, starting with Caesar's Palace in 1966 after places like the Sands, Sahara, and Riviera had already started competing with the old downtown casinos for business.  Las Vegas started to become a honeymoon destination and place to find cheap buffets.  The prostitution and money laundering got shifted to nearby places like Pahrump, which actually features a museum of the history of the oldest profession. 

Of course, this has again changed, and Las Vegas has since become available for the whole family in the name of unbridled luxury and pleasures, and the buffets have only become better for it, albeit with a steeper price tag.  We can take a look at her next post!