Las Vegas Home Sales

Las Vegas Real Estate Agents Jeff & Kelly Stafford

Las Vegas, NV Area Guide

Fabulous Las Vegas, the “Entertainment Capital of the World”, is the most populated city in the state of Nevada. While famous throughout the world for its gambling, fine dining and shopping, “Sin City” has equally as many virtues as it has vices. Belying its motto that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, the city is a fast-growing area for both retirees and new families alike. Located in an arid basin of the Mojave Desert’s floor, Las Vegas enjoys abundant sunshine year-round and is typified by its sub-tropical arid climate. Culturally, Las Vegas is a true “melting pot”, with its retail and restaurant industries fueled by the tourism, conventions and attractions that the city’s economy depends on. Near-constant population growth, expansion of the hospitality industry and city renovations makes construction and housing development other key business industries in Las Vegas. In addition to the numerous casinos, rotating calendar of entertainment showcases and conventions held within its city limits, Las Vegas has ample offerings outside of the hustle and glitz of the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas has a history as colorful as its neon signs and as multi-textured as the desert landscape surrounding it.
Las Vegas offers its residents and visitors art as well as entertainment, culture in addition to glamour, and peaceful solitude in nature to buffet the fast pace of the glittering strip casinos. Set aside your preconceptions—Las Vegas holds more wonders than you might expect and more opportunities than can be gained by a simple roll of the dice.

History

Las Vegas and its region first hosted European travelers during the early19th century as they followed the Old Spanish Trail north from Texas. During this time, Nevada’s landscape was proliferated by artesian wells, which supported many green areas and meadows (vegas, in Spanish; hence the name Las Vegas). Following annexation in 1855, the area was briefly home to Mormon settlers and a frequent stopover point for travelers of the “Mormon Corridor”, a well-travelled route between Salt Lake City and San Bernardino, CA. Las Vegas was abandoned by the Mormon settlers during the Utah War of 1857; subsequently, it was incorporated as a city in 1911, after which it became a popular railroad town in the early days of America’s rail system. As the railways of the United States expanded, Las Vegas became less of an important destination until the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam and the formation of Lake Mead, both of which drew tourist traffic into the area. The legalization of gambling in 1931, however, is where Las Vegas enjoyed a “rebirth” into its second, now-famous incarnation. A historical fact that is as eccentric as the city itself is that simultaneous to its urbanization and development as a destination for gambling and entertainment, the area was also enjoying significant growth and development from an influx of the scientific community. The Manhattan Project and its scientists and staff brought nearly as much major development to Las Vegas as the casinos and shows eventually would. Historically, Las Vegas has always been a city where the high-brow and low-brow commingle easily and effortlessly, blending together and building a glittering city in the midst of a desert.

Parks and Recreation

Parks and recreation are as plentiful in Las Vegas as the casinos and shows the city is known for. Las Vegas is home to literally dozens of parks, with a range as wide and diverse as the entertainment choices are in its downtown area. Las Vegas offers its residents the simple joys of nature and outdoor recreation in its well maintained system of parks, many of which have incorporated the use of xeriscaping, adding lush greenery to the otherwise arid desert of their location.

Las Vegas residents can choose their pleasure: dog parks, galleries, golf courses, public family recreational parks, art and community event facilities, reservable parks, active adult and senior centers, skate parks, sports complexes and swimming pools—Las Vegas truly has it all. Las Vegas is also home to Southern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park, (Las Vegas Zoo), in which over 150 species of plant and animal are housed, as well as, Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park and Floyd Lamb State Park. Las Vegas visitors and residents can also choose to explore the unique geological wonders of the Mojave Desert at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, where they can enjoy hiking the trails, mountain biking, rock climbing, road biking, horseback riding, or observing nature in the visitors center or picnic areas available. The Hoover Dam Bypass is also a must-see local attraction. To learn more about these, and many other, Las Vegas parks, please visit:

Hoover Dam Bypass

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area


The Las Vegas Springs Preserve

City Of Las Vegas

Nevada Commission on Tourism

Attractions and Activities

Las Vegas is famous for the staggering amount of choices it presents its visitors with regard to attractions, events, and leisure. There are so many diverse activities that one could spend a lifetime here and still not see everything. Casinos, music events, shows and conventions are what the city has become world-famous—and infamous!—for. But many visitors forget that Las Vegas contains symmetry and balance, and has a wide range of attractions that exist outside of its famous strip. For those who crave the glitz, glamour and high stakes of the strip—by all means, explore the links below to find the hottest spots to try your luck or dance the night away. Fine dining and shopping abound; for every taste and price, there is an experience waiting to be uncovered. For those who enjoy the night life but whose tastes are more epicurean in the daylight hours, consider some of the other attractions that Las Vegas has to choose from:

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which hosts touring attractions as well as dance, symphonic and orchestral performances, or perhaps a visit to the Neon Museum, where the brightly lit neon signs of Las Vegas go when they retire. On the first Friday of each month, the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas hosts a “First Friday” celebration, inviting visitors to visit the galleries and experience the fine art Las Vegas is home to. For the cowboys and cowboy-lovers of Las Vegas, the city hosts its annual Helldorado Days, complete with a rodeo, carnival and parade. So from the glitz of Broadway shows to the Western draw of lariats during Helldorado Days, Las Vegas invites you to explore the facets that make up the glitter of this diamond in the desert.

Helldorado Days

The Neon Museum

Premium Shopping Outlets of Las Vegas

Fremont Street Experience

Nevada Commission on Tourism

Official Las Vegas Tourism

Events

As a city that hosts a myriad of guests ranging from music, to dance to performance and genre-specific conventions, the events calendar in Las Vegas is ever-changing, constantly rotating to offer our visitors and residents the most exciting variety of events possible. For a complete, up-to-date calendar of what’s happening in Las Vegas, please visit any of the previously listed websites, or visit:

Official Las Vegas Tourism

City Of Las Vegas

Nevada Commission on Tourism

Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce

Las Vegas Tourism Bureau