Watch Mojo: ‘History of Las Vegas: Casinos and Crime’

Source:Watch Mojo- welcome to Sin City, Nevada.

Source:The New Democrat

“This city in the middle of the desert was originally named Las Vegas by Spanish explorers, and that name translates to “the meadows.” Soon, a Mormon population relocated there from Utah and eventually became important members of the community. Once a connection to nearby Los Angeles was established, it was only a matter of time before Vegas grew. However, first, the city needed an attraction. Casinos and theaters began popping up and soon Vegas was known for unlawful and sinful behavior. That encouraged organized crime to get into the action. Today, Las Vegas is known as a city of quick marriages, gambling, and glitz. In this video, WatchMojo.com learns more about the history of Las Vegas.” 

From Watch Mojo 

“History of Las Vegas: Casinos and Crime” 

Source:Watch Mojo- from a History Channel documentary.

From Watch Mojo 

"By Ned Day, Robert Stoldal, KLAS-TV, 1987. History of mob involvement in gambling in Las Vegas, 1931-1980s. Includes segments on Moe Dalitz, Allan Dorfman and the Teamsters Union, Tony "Big Tuna" Acordy and the Atlantic City mob, Frank Rosenthal, Tony Spilotro, and the Chicago mob." 

Source:Vintage Las Vegas- The Stardust Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

From Vintage Las Vegas 

“Some people call “The Mob” the founding fathers of Las Vegas. They were gangsters, hoodlums and thieves that migrated to Las Vegas from all over the country. Before Las Vegas became big business run by corporations the mob ran this town. From the early 1950′s through the 1980′s you could find the mob running the best casinos on the Vegas strip.

Even though the mob helped make Las Vegas the tourist destination it is today it wasn’t without it’s flaws. The mob was always known for being a major part of prostitution, drug dealing and loan sharking. Mobsters were often ruthless businessman who withheld tax money that should have gone to the Government to build schools, hospitals and roads. However, there were a small portion of the mob that changed themselves for the better to become model citizens and respectable businessmen."  

Source:Travel Vegas- to be completely candid: Las Vegas isn't nearly as important, without the Italian and Jewish mobs.

From Travel Vegas 

Take Jimmy Hoffa and Bugsy Siegel, and Howard Hughes as well, away from Las Vegas and that city might still be a desert town, a country town, perhaps a place where people go to get some peace and quiet, but not the the entertainment capital of the United States that it is today. This city was literally built with blood money from the Italian and Jewish mobs, but also from crooks in organized crime such as Jimmy Hoffa, Sr.

Good business people, whether legitimate characters or crooks, are always looking for the next profit and investment where they can make that next fortune. There was no one in Vegas 80 years ago, a city of perhaps 10,000 people, similar to Bethesda, Maryland (if you are familiar with my area) which was, pre-1970 at least, just a stop on the way to somewhere like Washington or Baltimore, but that started to change in the late 1930s and early 1940s as the mobs discovered Vegas.

That is what you see in this video about the men who built Las Vegas and gave the Southwest and the broader West and even the United States (once the word was out that Vegas was a great place) the opportunity to either lose or make money, but Vegas was also a great place to have a good time just a 4-hour drive from Los Angeles.  It gave the State of Nevada a serious revenue source to build its infrastructure, schools, and everything that States need to do well.