LAS VEGAS STRIP

The Las Vegas Strip (also known as The Strip) is 4 mi (6.7 km) of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Las Vegas, Nevada that has been designated an All-American Road. Many of the largest hotel, casino and resort properties in the world are located on The Strip.

Over the years, Las Vegas Boulevard South has been called Arrowhead Highway, Salt Lake Highway, U.S. Highway 91, and Los Angeles Highway. The Strip was reportedly named by police officer Guy McAfee, after his hometown's Sunset Strip.

The Strip runs from the Stratosphere at the northern end, to the Mandalay Bay on the southern end. Of the 4 miles, nearly 3.5 miles of it is located in the township of Paradise, Clark County, only a small portion is within the city limits of Las Vegas. McCarran Airport is located at the southern end of The Strip, along with the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.

In addition to the large hotels, casinos and resorts, The Strip is home to a few smaller casinos, motels, and other attractions, such as M&M World, Adventure Dome and the Fashion Show Mall. Starting in the mid 1990s, The Strip became a popular New Year's Eve celebration destination.


HISTORY OF THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931.

The first hotel to be built on what is today's Strip was the El Rancho Vegas, opening on April 3, 1941 with 63 rooms and standing for almost 20 years before being destroyed by fire in 1960. Its success spawned a second hotel on what will become The Strip, the Hotel Last Frontier, in 1942. The Flamingo opened a few years later, on December 26th, 1946.

In 1968, Kirk Kerkorian purchased the Flamingo and hired Sahara Hotels Vice President Alex Shoofey as President. Alex Shoofey brought along 33 of Sahara's top executives. The Flamingo was used to train future employees of the International Hotel, which was under construction. Opening in 1969, the International Hotel with 1,512 rooms, would become the largest hotel in the world, and begin the era of mega-resorts. The International is known as the Las Vegas Hilton today.

1973 added a new resort to The Strip. The (original) MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, also a Kerkorian property, opened with 2,084 rooms, ranking as the number one hotel in the world by number of rooms at that time. On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand suffered the worst resort fire in the history of Las Vegas, killing 87 people (84 in the fire and three more due to injuries) as a result of electrical problems. It reopened eight months later. In 1986, Kerkorian sold the MGM Grand to Bally Manufacturing and it was renamed Bally's.

The opening of The Mirage in 1989 set a new level to the Las Vegas experience, as smaller hotels and casinos made way for the larger mega-resorts. These huge facilities offer entertainment and dining options, as well as gambling and lodging. This change impacted the smaller, well-known and now historic hotels and casinos, like The Dunes and The Sands.

In an effort to attract families, resorts offered more attractions geared toward youth, but had limited success. The (current) MGM Grand opened in 1993 with Grand Adventures amusement park, but it closed in 2000 due to lack of interest. Similarly, in 2003 Treasure Island closed its own video arcade and abandoned the previous pirate theme and adopting the new ti name.

Downtown Las Vegas hotels and casinos suffered heavily from the Strip's boom. They have funneled money into remodeling the facades of casinos, adding additional security and new attractions, like the Fremont Street Experience and Neonopolis (complete with movie theaters).

Wet and Wild water park, located next to the Sahara hotel, closed permanently at the end of the 2004 season.

On July 8, 2005, news reports said that George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt will be working with Cindy Crawford's husband Rande Gerber to design and build a new casino hotel in Las Vegas just off the Strip. Mr. Gerber is the one behind Green Valley Ranch resort and spa's Whiskey Sky, so he is already involved in the Las Vegas entertainment market.

Groundbreaking is expected to begin in January 2006, 2 months after the official announcement. Clooney filmed Ocean's Eleven at the Bellagio, and spends vacation time at the Green Valley Ranch resort and spa. One name being considered is The Ramblas.


GETTING AROUND THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

While not on The Strip itself, the Las Vegas Monorail runs on the east side of The Strip from Tropicana Avenue to Sahara Road.

Cat Bus provides both a standard route (stops at each resort, 24 hours a day) and an express route (only stops 8-9 times total in 7 miles, 12 hours a day, 5 days a week) bus service on the Strip. A current list of fares is available.

A tourist trolley service travels up and down The Strip and stops at various, but not all, Strip hotels, along with a stop at the Fashion Show Mall. The fare is $1.75 per ride, exact change required. Trolleys are scheduled to arrive every 15 minutes.

Two small light-rail services, referred to as trams, operate on the Strip. One runs between Treasure Island and The Mirage. The other provides service to Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur.

Compared to major roadways in other cities, the Las Vegas Strip is becoming pedestrian-friendly. New casinos design their facades to attract walk-up customers and many of these entrances have become attractions themselves - the Fountains at Bellagio, the volcano at The Mirage, and the Treasure Island (TI) Pirate Show are the most well-known. People gather on the sidewalks in front of the casinos to watch these shows.

To alleviate traffic issues at popular intersections, footbridges have been installed to help pedestrians more safely cross the roads. The Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard footbridges were the first to be installed, and based on the success of this project additional footbridges have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard at the Flamingo Road intersection; between The Mirage/Treasure Island and The Venetian; and the latest ones at the Las Vegas Boulevard-Spring Mountain and Sands Avenue intersection connecting the Wynn with the Fashion Show Mall.


FREE SHUTTLES ON THE STRIP

• Between Harrah's Las Vegas and the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. Approximately every 15 minutes.

• Between Barbary Coast and The Orleans. Approximately every 15 minutes.

• Between Barbary Coast and Gold Coast. Approximately every 15 minutes.

• Between Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and the MGM Grand and the Harley-Davidson Cafe (next to the Aladdin). Leaves the Hard Rock on the hour.

• Between Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Fashion Show Mall and the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Leaves the Hard Rock on the hour.


GOLF COURSES ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

In recent years, all the on-Strip golf courses, except the Desert Inn Golf Course, fell prey to the mega-resorts need for land and were closed. Steve Wynn , founder of previously owned Mirage Resorts, purchased the Desert Inn and golf course for his new company Wynn Resorts. In 2005, he opened Wynn Las Vegas, complete with remodeled golf course providing tee times to hotel guests only.

In 2000, a new public golf course opened just south of Mandalay Bay on the Strip. Catering to a high-end golf enthusiast, the Bali Hai Golf Club is easly seen by drivers on I-15.

LAS VEGAS TOURS AND ACTIVITIES

LAS VEGAS HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION