Las Vegas, Nevada

1931Nevada Legalizes Gambling: Nevada legalized most forms of gambling, setting Las Vegas on a path to become the entertainment and gaming capital of the world.

2017Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting: A gunman firing from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay killed 60 people and wounded over 400 at an outdoor country music festival. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

1946Bugsy Siegel Opens the Flamingo: Mobster Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, bringing Hollywood glamour to the desert and creating the template for modern Las Vegas mega-resorts.

1951Nuclear Testing Begins: The Nevada Test Site began atmospheric nuclear weapons testing 65 miles from Las Vegas. The city turned mushroom clouds into tourist attractions, with 'atomic cocktails' served on casino rooftops.

1966Howard Hughes Arrives: Billionaire Howard Hughes moved into the Desert Inn and began buying casinos, bringing corporate legitimacy to Las Vegas and helping push out organized crime.

1989The Mirage Opens: Steve Wynn's Mirage opened, launching the era of mega-resorts. The $630 million property transformed the Strip and made Las Vegas a family-friendly destination.

1935Hoover Dam Completed: The massive dam on the Colorado River was completed near Las Vegas, providing the water and electricity that made the city's growth possible.

1905Las Vegas Founded as Railroad Town: Las Vegas was founded when the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad auctioned 110 acres in what is now downtown. The town grew as a railroad service stop.

1960Rat Pack Era: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the Rat Pack made Las Vegas the entertainment capital of the world, performing nightly at the Sands Hotel.

2020COVID Shuts Down the Strip: For the first time in history, every casino on the Las Vegas Strip closed simultaneously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating the city's tourism-dependent economy.