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Las Vegas is a mystical, dazzling, glitzy sea of neon lights beckoning visitors with luxurious accommodations, unbelievable shows, exquisite restaurants, world class gambling and decadence on a grandiose scale. It is ancient Rome, romantic Paris, exotic Egypt, exciting New York City and the Canals of Venice all rolled into one fabulous vacation destination. With millions of people having Las Vegas in their sites every year, it is not difficult to see why it has earned the title of Entertainment Capital of the World.
Shortly after gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931 and construction of the first hotel/casinos had begun, who could have known that it was the beginning of the phenomenon known simply as Vegas, a glamorous, fantasyland oasis in the middle of the desert.
There is much more to Las Vegas than gambling, eating and shopping. It is a vibrant, fast growing and progressive city that attracts some of the largest conventions and business meetings in the world. Each year, over 50,000 people relocate permanently to this city thanks to the abundance of jobs, lower taxes, affordable housing, healthy climate and beautiful surroundings.
With 320 days of sunshine annually, Las Vegas can also boast of some of the best golfing facilities in the country. Beyond the famous five-mile Las Vegas Strip, there is also the historic and exciting Fremont Street, home of the original casinos that started the Vegas craze back in the 1930s.
Millions of tourists come to see what is known as the Freemont Experience; an incredible and breathtaking light and sound show presented on a domed structure covering several blocks in the downtown area. Las Vegas is a growing city; every year bigger and more spectacular hotels and casinos are being designed and built to amaze and entertain people from all over the world.
The Strip Magnificent hotels glow green and gold. Pink, red, yellow, blue and white neon pulsates all around. Electric lights flash. Music plays. Volcanoes erupt. Fountains soar. Cars create two moving streams of light, red and white. People in the thousands walk up, down and over the Strip. Roller coasters corkscrew high above the ground. A laser beam, visible from space, penetrates the night sky, inviting the whole universe to come and play.
And that's only outside - step into any of the iconic casino resorts along the Strip, and you'll enter a world of pure imagination.
Downtown Vegas past and Vegas future live side by side downtown, where the Fremont Street Experience, a spectacular $70-million canopy of light and sound, envelopes the historic hotels and casinos along four blocks of Fremont Street. Like most things Vegas, downtown shows best at night, when the Fremont Street Experience lights up and street performers entertain the crowds.
Downtown is where you'll find the brighter-than-day white lights of Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel. Or the Golden Nugget, where casino mogul Steve Wynn founded an empire. Or the venerable Golden Gate, Vegas' first hotel, built in 1906, which is still pulling them in from Fremont Street.
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