Everything about The Las Vegas Strip totally explained
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. Route 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 . 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 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 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-grossing gambling center, falling to second place behind
Macau.
The Strip today
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.
Free shuttles
Some of the shuttles have a policy requiring a room key from an affiliated casino. Enforcement of these policies may vary.
Walking around
Several Strip hotels have undertaken efforts to make the street more pedestrian-friendly. New casinos design their
façades to attract walk-up customers, and many of these entrances have become attractions themselves - the Fountains at
Bellagio, the volcano at
The Mirage, and the
Treasure Island (TI) Sirens of TI are the most well-known. People gather on the sidewalks in front of the casinos to watch these shows.
To alleviate traffic issues at popular intersections, several footbridges have been installed to help pedestrians safely traverse the roads. 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; between The Mirage/Treasure Island and The Venetian; and the latest ones at the Las Vegas Boulevard-Spring Mountain and Sands Avenue intersection connecting the Wynn with the Fashion Show Mall.
Golf courses
In recent years, all but one of the on-Strip
golf courses (the Desert Inn Golf Course) have fallen prey to the mega-resorts' need for land and have closed. Developer
Steve Wynn, founder of previously owned
Mirage Resorts, purchased the Desert Inn and golf course for his new company
Wynn Resorts. In 2005, he opened
Wynn Las Vegas, complete with remodeled golf course providing tee times to hotel guests only.
In 2000,
Bali Hai Golf Club opened just south of Mandalay Bay and the Strip. Catering to a high-end golf enthusiast, the Bali Hai Golf Course can easily be seen by drivers on
Interstate 15.
Major hotel locations
For a full list of hotels on the Strip, see
list of Las Vegas Strip hotels.
Shopping attractions
Entertainment
Most of the attractions and shows on the Strip are located on the hotel casino properties. Some of the more popular free attractions include the water fountains and the Conservatory at
Bellagio, the
Sirens of ti show at
Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, and the White Tiger Habitat at
The Mirage.
Shows playing in Las Vegas include five
Cirque du Soleil shows, the
Blue Man Group, and some imported Broadway shows like
Mamma Mia! and
The Phantom of the Opera.
Demolished or closed Strip casinos & hotels
Big Red's Casino: Closed in 1982. Property developed for CBS Sports World Casino (Changed name to Sports World Casino after the CBS Television Network threatened to sue): Closed in 2001, now a shopping center.
Boardwalk Hotel and Casino: Demolished May 9, 2006 to make way for Project City Center.
Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino: Demolished February 6, 2006, now an empty lot.
Desert Inn (and golf course): Inn demolished in 2004, now Wynn Las Vegas; golf course retained and improved.
The Dunes (and golf course): Demolished in 1993, now Bellagio.
El Rancho (formerly Thunderbird/Silverbird): Closed in 1992 and demolished in 2000, will be the site of the 4000-room casino-hotel Fontainebleau which is currently under construction.
El Rancho Vegas: Burned down in 1960. The Hilton Grand Vacation Club timeshare now exists on the south edge of the site where the resort once stood; the remainder remains vacant.
Glass Pool Inn: Demolished in 2006. It was called Mirage Motel until 1988 and changed names due to The Mirage opening down The Strip in 1989.
Hacienda: Demolished in 1996, now Mandalay Bay. A separate Hacienda now exists outside of Boulder City, formerly the Gold Strike Inn.
Holy Cow Casino Cafe and Brewery First micro brewery in Las Vegas. Closed in 2002, property currently vacant.
Jackpot Casino: Closed in 1977, now the Sahara.
Klondike Hotel & Casino: Closed in 2006, demolished in 2008.
The Landmark: Demolished in 1995. Now the site of a parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center (Demolition was filmed for the feature Mars Attacks!).
Lucky Slots Casino: Closed in 1981, now a shopping center.
Lotus Inn Hotel & Casino: Closed in 1978, now a Rodeway Inn.
Money Tree Casino: Closed in 1979.
Marina Hotel and Casino: Westward pointing tower (known as the West Wing) of the MGM Grand.
The New Frontier: Closed July 16, 2007, demolished November 13, 2007. Site of the new Las Vegas Plaza.
Nob Hill Casino: Closed in 1990, now Casino Royale.
Paddlewheel Hotel & Casino: Closed in 1991 and reopened in 1993 as Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Hotel & Casino, which itself closed in 1996 and is now the Greek Isles Hotel & Casino.
San Souci: Closed in 1962 for the Castaways, which itself was demolished in 1987. Now the site of The Mirage.
The Sands: Demolished in 1996, now The Venetian.
Silver City Hotel & Casino: Closed in 1999, now the Silver City Shopping Center.
Silver Slipper: Demolished in 1988 for a parking lot. Now the site of the Desert Inn Road Arterial.
Stardust Resort & Casino: Closed November 1, 2006, demolished March 13, 2007. To be replaced by Echelon Place.
Tally Ho Hotel: Closed in 1966. Became the Aladdin, which in 2007 became Planet Hollywood.
Vacation Village Resort & Casino; Closed in 2002, demolished in 2006. Site of the new Town Square development.
Vegas World: Demolished in 1995 and rebuilt as the Stratosphere; parts of the old Vegas World still remain.
Westward Ho Hotel and Casino: Closed in 2005, demolished in 2006.Further Information
Get more info on 'Las Vegas Strip'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://las_vegas_strip.totallyexplained.com">Las Vegas Strip Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
