Vi) Gambling (Las Vegas)

Las Vegas started as a gambling town dominated by organised crime.

In the 1970s and 80s, Las Vegas marked time as a gambling mecca, with shady night clubs, etc.

In the 1990s, Las Vegas was re-invented by introducing the concept of theme parks. This attracted tourist as well as the gamblers.

Then around 2,000, luxury resorts were introduced to provide sites for conferences and an up-market retailing and entertainment experience more than gambling.

More recently the latest trend is towards apartments

Initally people came to Las Vegas to gamble or party (or get married quickly). However,
"...in 2014, only 12% of the 42 million people who visited Vegas came specifically to gamble......Las Vegas is swiftly reinventing itself: from Sin City to one of the most diverse leisure centres on earth..."
Craig Tansley, 2016

It has spent around $US 350 m. revitalising the downtown area that Las Vegas was famous for in the 1950s and 60s. More recently mega-resorts (starting in 1989) Have appeared and resulted in the growth of The Strip plus suburban sprawl.

Some other examples of change in Las Vegas:

- Golf (it is one of the United States most prestigious golf addresses with 50+ world-class, unique courses within 30 minutes of the Las Vegas strip)

- Art hot-spot (elaborate murals are painted on concrete walls across entire block of the downtown area by some the world's most revered underground artists)

- Life is Beautiful (Nevada's innovative annual arts and music festival that attracts iconic underground artists like Banksy and soul legend like Stevie Wonder plus 130,000+ visitors)

- Tourists and locals (trendy restaurants and cafes, arts stores, bookshops, records stores, etc)