Las Vegas travel guide

When Mormon pioneers established a fort in the middle of a punishing Mojave Desert landscape in the 1850s, only two short decades after the United States had annexed the area from Mexico, no one could have forecast that it would become a neon-festooned symbol of American ingenuity, capitalism, and round-the-clock fun. Yet here we are. What once was a dusty pit stop between California and Utah now attracts more than 40 million conventioneers and pleasure seekers a year. Las Vegas is the most unlikely of American cities. Ancient hunter-gatherers originally populated this area, and throughout the decades, Spanish merchants, pioneers, railroaders, Mafia crime bosses, and multi-billion-dollar gaming corporations have made their mark. Today it is a high-budget entertainment zone with over 4,000 restaurants—the highest per capita density of any US city—a packed and growing Strip of hotels; multiple mega sports arenas, and, thanks to savvy marketing, is one of the most recognizable brands on the planet.