Many of the largest hotel casino andresort properties in the world are on the Strip. Its hotels, casinos, restaurants, residential high-rises, entertainment offerings, and skyline have established the Strip as one of the most popular and iconic tourist destinations in the world and is one of the driving forces for Las Vegas's economy.[2] Most of the Strip has been designated as anAll-American Road,[3] and the North and South Las Vegas Strip routes are classified asNevada Scenic Byways andNational Scenic Byways.[4]
Boundaries
Looking north and south, 2013
Historically, casinos that were not inDowntown Las Vegas alongFremont Street sat outside the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard.[5][6] In 1959, theWelcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was built[7] exactly 4.5 miles (7.2 km) outside the city limits. The sign is currently located in the median just south ofRussell Road which is 4.2 miles (6.8 km) from The Sahara,[8][9] about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) south of the southernmost entrance toMandalay Bay, which is the Strip's southernmost casino.
In the strictest sense,the Strip refers only to the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that is roughly betweenSahara Avenue and the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.[10][11] Clark County uses the phraseResort Corridor to describe the area including Las Vegas Boulevard between 215 Beltway and Sahara Avenue and surrounding areas.[12]
TheSahara is considered the Strip's northern terminus by Clark County,[10] though travel guides typically extend it to theStrat 0.4 miles (0.64 km) to the north.[13][14][15]Mandalay Bay, just north of Russell Road is the southernmost resort considered to be on the Strip.[13] According to Clark County, the southern end of the Strip is the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign; the county acknowledges that some argue for Russell Road at the southernmost terminus.[10][16]
Las Vegas Strip: day and night
History
Early years (1930s–1990s)
The first casino to be built onHighway 91 was thePair-o-Dice Club in 1931, but the first full service casino-resort on what is currently called the Strip was theEl Rancho Vegas, which opened with 63 bungalow hotel rooms on April 3, 1941. Its success spawned a second nearby hotel, theHotel Last Frontier in 1942.[17][18]Organized crime figures such asBugsy Siegel took an intense interest in the growing Las Vegas gaming center and funded another resort; financing the completion of theFlamingo construction with mob money. The Flamingo casino opened in December 1946, and the hotel opened in March 1947.Wilbur Clark'sDesert Inn resort opened in 1950.[19] The funding for many Las Vegas projects was provided through theAmerican National Insurance Company, which was based in the then-notoriousgambling empire of Galveston, Texas.[20][21]
The Strip in late 1940s. Pictured is the gas station of theHotel Last Frontier, the second hotel on the Strip.
In 1950, Mayor Ernie Cragin of theCity of Las Vegas sought to annex the Las Vegas Strip, which ran through unincorporated Clark County territory, in order to expand the city's tax base to fund his ambitious building agenda and pay down the city's rising debt.[24] Instead,Gus Greenbaum of the Flamingo led a group of casino executives to lobby the Clark County commissioners for town status.[24] Twounincorporated towns were eventually created,Paradise andWinchester.[25][26] More than two decades later, theSupreme Court of Nevada struck down a 1975 Nevada state law that would have folded the Strip and the rest of the urban areas of Clark County into the City of Las Vegas.[27]
Caesars Palace was established in 1966. Opening in 1969, theInternational Hotel, with 1,512 rooms, began the era of mega-resorts. The International is known as Westgate Las Vegas today.
The opening ofThe Mirage in 1989 set a new level to the Las Vegas experience, as smaller hotels and casinos made way for the larger mega-resorts.[28] In the 1990s, more than 12 new hotels opened, including themed hotels like theLuxor,Excalibur, andMandalay Bay.[29] At $1.7B, the most expensive hotel in the world at the time,The Bellagio, was built in the 1990s.[29] In 1993, the launch of theMystère show at the newTreasure Island hotel byCirque du Soleil marked a key point in transforming Las Vegas Strip entertainment.[19]
In an effort to attract families, resorts offered more attractions geared toward youth, but had limited success.[30] The currentMGM Grand opened in 1993.[31]
Four-segment panorama of The Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace (left to right) from the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Bellagio fountains
With the opening of theBellagio (1998),Venetian (1999),Wynn (2005),Palazzo (2007), andEncore (2008) resorts, the Strip trended towards the luxurious high-end segment through most of the 2000s, while some older resorts added major expansions and renovations, including some de-theming of the earlier themed hotels.[32][33]
Announced in 2004 and built between 2006 and 2009,CityCenter, a 66-acre (27 ha), $8.5 billion (in 2009USD; equivalent to $16.1 billion in March 2025) multi-use project on the former site of theBoardwalk hotel and adjoining land. Most elements of the project opened in late 2009.[34]
RTC Transit (previously Citizens Area Transit, or CAT) provides bus service on the Strip withdouble decker buses known asThe Deuce.[46] The Deuce runs between the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and South Strip Transfer Terminal to the Bonneville Transit Center (BTC) and the Fremont Street Experience inDowntown Las Vegas, with stops near every casino.
Trams
Several free trams operate between properties on the west side of the Strip:[47]
While not on the Strip itself, theLas Vegas Monorail runs a 3.9-mile route on the east side of the Strip corridor from Tropicana Avenue to Sahara Avenue, with stops every 4 to 8 minutes at several on-Strip properties including the MGM Grand and the Sahara at each end of the route.[48][49] The stations include:[49]
Elevated pedestrian footbridge at the corner of Spring Mountain Road and Las Vegas Blvd
Tens of thousands of pedestrians are walking along the Strip at any given time.[52] As of 2019, about 50,000 pedestrians walked the Strip on an average day.[53]
In the 1990s, several pedestrian footbridges were erected over Las Vegas Boulevard to increase pedestrian safety and alleviate traffic congestion at popular intersections. The first was theTropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard footbridge.[54][55] Some mimic the theme of nearby resorts.[citation needed].[56][57] The footbridges include:[58]
Veer Towers: Connects Veer Towers, Waldorf Astoria, and Crystals Shopping Center
Park MGM and T-Mobile Arena Park: Connects MGM and Showcase Mall
Planet Hollywood: Connects Planet Hollywood, CityCenter, Crystals Shopping Center, and The Cosmopolitan.
Spring Mountain Road and Las Vegas Blvd. Corner: Connects Treasure Island, the Wynn, Fashion Show Mall, and The Venetian
Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Blvd. Corner: Connects Bally's, Flamingo, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace
Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave Corner. Connects the MGM Grand, New York-New York, Excalibur, and Tropicana
Taxis
Taxi on the Las Vegas Strip
Taxis are available at resorts, shopping centers, attractions, and for scheduled pickups.[59] The Nevada Taxicab Authority provides information about taxi fares and fare zones.[60]
Attractions on the Strip
Gambling
Casino floor at the WynnHakkasan Nightclub at the MGM Grand
In 2019, about eight in ten (81%) visitors said they gambled while in Las Vegas, the highest proportion in the past five years.[61] The average time spent gambling, 2.7 hours, represents an increase over the past three years.[61] Also, the average trip gambling budget, $591.06, was increased from 2018.[61] About nine in ten (89%) visitors who gambled did so on the Strip Corridor.[61] UNLV reported that in 2019, Big Las Vegas Strip Casinos (defined as Strip casinos with more than $72M in annual gaming revenues) had more than $6B in annual gaming revenues, corresponding to about 26% of total annual revenues.[62]
From the time period spanning 1985 to 2019, there have been some changes in the mix of table games in casinos on the Strip:[63]
Blackjack: The number of tables decreased from 77% in 1985 to 50% in 2019. Revenue decreased from 50% in 1985 to 11% in 2019.
Craps: Revenue decreased from 28% in 1985 to 11% in 2019.
Roulette: Both the number of tables and revenue increased by 50%.
Baccarat: About 2% of tables and 13% revenue in 1985 to 13% of tables and 37% of revenue in 2019.
Additional games: Games such aspai gow poker,three-card poker, and mini-baccarat have increased in popularity, number of tables, and revenue.
Casino operators have been expanding sports betting facilities and products, as well as renovating and upgrading equipment and facilities.[64] Although sports betting has a relatively low margin, the high-end sportsbooks can generate significant amounts of revenue in other areas, such as food and drink.[64] As a result, sportsbooks have been expanding and upgrading food and drink offerings.[65] High-end sportsbooks include features such as single-seat stadium-style seating, large high-definition screens, a dedicated broadcast booth, and the ability to watch up to 15 sporting events at once.[64][66] The sports network ESPN is broadcasting sports betting shows from a dedicated studio at The Linq.[66] Some sportsbooks are now offering self-service betting kiosks.[67]
Entertainment
The Las Vegas Strip is known for its lounges, showrooms, theaters and nightclubs,[68] most on the hotel casino properties. Some of the more popular free attractions visible from the Strip include the water fountains atBellagio, the volcano atThe Mirage (now shuttered with the closing of The Mirage), and the Fall of Atlantis and Festival Fountain atCaesars Palace. There are severalCirque du Soleil shows, such asKà at the MGM Grand,O at Bellagio,Mystère at Treasure Island, andMichael Jackson: One atMandalay Bay.[69]
Numerous entertainment venues populate the Strip. Most of the resorts have a showroom, nightclub and/or live music venue on the property and a few have large multipurpose arenas. Major venues include:
The Linq Promenade is an open-air retail, dining, and entertainment district located betweenThe Linq andFlamingo resorts that began a soft open in January 2014. It leads from a Strip-side entrance to theHigh Roller.
The Park, a short east–west street between thePark MGM andNew York-New York resorts is a park-like boulevard lined with retail shops and restaurants, leading toT-Mobile Arena.[76]
TheAladdin had a nine-hole golf course in the 1960s.[82] As land values on the Strip have increased over the years, the resort-affiliated golf courses have been removed to make way for building projects.[83] TheTropicana Country Club closed in 1990[84] and theDunes golf course in the mid-90s.Steve Wynn, founder of previously ownedMirage Resorts, purchased theDesert Inn and golf course for his new companyWynn Resorts and redeveloped the course as the Wynn Golf Club. This course closed in 2017, but the development planned for the course was cancelled and the course was renovated and re-opened in late 2019.[85] In 2000, Bali Hai Golf Club opened just south ofMandalay Bay and the Strip.[86] In 2016, aTopGolf opened near the Strip.[87]
Amusement parks and rides
Adventuredome indoor amusement park at Circus Circus on the Strip is a major tourist attraction;[88] it is enclosed in glass, with a carousel, mini-golf, two roller coasters, bowling, spinning rides, an arcade, virtual reality rides, a carnival midway, and clown shows.[88]
The lower left of the photo shows a portion of the solar array on top of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Many hotel resort properties have sustainability efforts, including:[89][90]
Water conservation: Approaches include reclaiming water and placing it back into Lake Mead, using minimal outdoor landscaping, upgrading toilets, using low-flow showerheads, and setting goals for water conservation.
Recycling: In 2017, the recycling rate in Clark County was about 20%, while the recycling rate for major hotels on the Strip was about 40%.
Food handling: Leftover food is composted or sent to agricultural farms. Untouched, undisturbed food is donated to local food banks.
Energy efficiency: Hotels have updated appliances in rooms, installed LED lighting, and installed wireless lighting control systems.
Renewable energy is generated and used on the Strip.[89] MGM built a solar array atop the Mandalay Bay in 2014 and expanded it in 2016.[89][91] Part of a 28-acre system, it is one of the largest commercial rooftop solar arrays in the United States.[92] The solar array's 26,000-plus solar panels that can provide a total of 8.3 megawatts DC (6.5 megawatts AC), enough for 1,300 homes or about one-quarter of the Mandalay Bay campus.[93]
The Strip has one of the highest concentrations of LEED-certified buildings in the world,[89][94] including the Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace and the Linq Promenade, both certified LEED Silver.[89]
Aladdin: Opened in 1962 as the Tallyho, became the King's Crown Tallyho in 1963, the Aladdin in 1966, and was demolished in 1998. A new Aladdin resort opened on the property in 2000, and was renamedPlanet Hollywood in 2007.
Big Red's Casino: Opened in 1981 and closed in 1982. Property developed for CBS Sports World Casino in 1997. Changed name to Sports World Casino afterCBS threatened to sue.[95] Closed in 2001, now a shopping center.
Barbary Coast: Opened in 1978-closed in 2007, and became Bill's Gamblin' Hall until 2010. NowThe Cromwell.
Silver City Casino: Closed in 1999, now the Silver City Plaza Shopping Center.
Silver Slipper Casino: Opened in 1950 and closed and demolished in 1988. It became the parking lot for theNew Frontier until its closure and demolition in 2007.
^Lukas, Scott A. (2007). "Theming as a Sensory Phenomenon: Discovering the Senses on the Las Vegas Strip". In Scott A. Lukas (ed.).The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nation, and Self. Lexington Books. pp. 75–95.ISBN978-0-7391-2142-9.
^abcdLas Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority."2019 Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study"(PDF).Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 5, 2023. RetrievedOctober 18, 2020.
Lukas, Scott A. "Theming as a sensory phenomenon: Discovering the senses on the Las Vegas strip." inThe themed space: Locating culture, nation, and self (2007): 75-95.
Song, Yang, et al. "Investigating sense of place of the Las Vegas Strip using online reviews and machine learning approaches."Landscape and Urban Planning 205 (2021): 103956.
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