World Travel Shepherd Entertainment takes you on a tour of Las Vegas, the capital of casinos which is on the border of Nevada and Arizona. We continue our way in a northwesterly direction to the desert state of Nevada which is famous for the modern version of gold fever, namely legalized gambling. Las Vegas by night is also bathed in light giving those who arrive in the middle of the night the impression that it's dawn. Electricity for the millions of lights is produced by the huge Hoover Dam nearby. It's on the border of Nevada and Arizona which at the same time also means a change in time zones. The Colorado River winding in the depth of the nearby Boulder Canyon was diverted in 1929 and within six years, the most enormous dam of our times was built, 240 meters high and 200 meters thick at its base. This was Hoover Dam, behind it Mead Lake. This water is the key to the fertility of California otherwise, a half desert. It is drunk in Los Angeles, San Diego and several hundred other smaller settlements. The legendary productive Californian plantations are watered with it and the electricity produced by it supplies Las Vegas and its neon parade. Las Vegas, the capital of casinos needs no introduction. On its main street, the strip are the famous hotels, the MGM Grand, the Excalibur, the Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, the New York New York, the Mirage, the Venetian, Caesar's Palace, the Circus Circus, Sahara and the Treasure Island Hotel and these of course are casinos as well. The foundation of the city is a real 20th century success story. In 1931, the state of Nevada alone in the union legalized gambling and by so doing, created the base for its own existence. At first only a few casinos attracted a handful of curious people to the desert oasis which had earlier been populated by mormons and farmers. The explosive development started after the Second World War and increased in the 60s and even more so in the 90s. The mammoth hotels, casinos and entertainment complexes of the main street, the Strip are continually in competition with each other. Technical development has enhanced the glittering city with never seen before spectacular elements. Nowadays, approximately one million people live here, almost all in the suburbs. Most people here work in the catering or service industry to serve the increasing number of tourists, ever more waiters, porters, chambermaids, cleaners, shop assistants and drivers are needed. And in the casinos, croupiers and security guards, not to mention the policemen, firemen, ambulance, doctors, officials and naturally the performing artists, acrobats, dancers, singers, stuntmen and of course the stars. Tourists spend an average of four days here but many, mainly the Americans visit Las Vegas several times a year. The most serious gamblers try to cook up different systems and often test these on the spot. The other group of visitors act like tourists and at worst, lose some change to the one armed bandits. American children, even if they've already been to Disneyland, the Universal Studios and the other amusement parks of California and Florida still want to visit Las Vegas, a city wide amusement park. They of course cannot play in casinos or even with slot machines but there's no need to worry that they'll be bored. Rollercoasters, Ferris wheels and the stratosphere tower await them as well as a live stuntman show at Treasure Island with pirates and sea battle. They can have supper at Excalibur while watching a tournament of knights and in Luxor, you can sail onto papyrus boats under the shadows of the pyramids. Michael Connelly put is so well in his Las Vegas crime story, Void Moon. The sharp outlines of the casino hotels appeared at around 3:00 on the horizon and Casey felt the unmistakable mixture of excitement and trembling. Now the return only stirred up painful memories, pity and ghosts in her. At the same time, she could not stand admiring the brilliance of the place. If there ever was such a place which was borne from nothing, that was Las Vegas. As she was driving through it, she recognized that fantastic places have taken place while she had been away. On every corner, a new hotel had sprung out of the ground, a new temple of greed and excess. Casey passed a fake New York skyscraper, the colossal MGM Grand and the new Bellagio. She saw copies of the Eiffel Tower and St. Mark's Square in Venice. Casey had never lived in those places but now here, she saw them. She remembered what Max had once said. One time everyone and everything comes to Las Vegas and then there will be no sense to visit anywhere else. Tags: Learn About Las Vegas,Las Vegas Travel Attractions,Las Vegas Travel Guide,Las Vegas travel information,las vegas travel tips,shepherd entertainment,shepherdfilm,Visit Las

• published: 04 Apr 2014
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