Las Vegas was named by the Spaniards who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas to LA. In the 19th century, areas of the valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or meadows (meadows is vegas in Spanish); hence the name Las Vegas. Las Vegas was annexed by the United States in 1855.
By the early 20th century, water from the wells was piped into town. The increased water allowed Las Vegas to become a "water stop" first for wagon trains and later for railroads. On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas was officially founded as a city.
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| Ceasars Palace...the first tower was completed in 1966. It had 14 stories and 680 rooms. Today, Ceasars has 6 towers and 3,960 rooms. It is the only venue in Las Vegas to host a World Series of Poker circuit event. |
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Flamingo...offers a 77,000 sq ft casino with 3,626 hotel rooms on 15 aqcres. Its theme is the style of Miami and South Beach. It has a garden courtyard featuring flamingos. It was the third resort to open on the strip and is the oldest resort on the strip still in operation today. Continuing the tropical theme, a Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant was added in 2003. We had dinner here. It was packed and we had a 25 min. wait...just long enough to browse in the gift shop! The blackened fish (talapia) taco with rice that had a hint of coconut was delicious and yes, I had one of those yummy frozen concoctions! |
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| Bellagio...the original tower is 508 ft tall, has 36 floors and 3,015 rooms. The newer Spa Tower is 392 ft tall, has 33 floors and 935 rooms. Bellagio employs 8,000 people. When it opened, it was the most expensive hotel ever built. |
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| Somewhere inside Bellagio... |
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| ...and somewhere in The Cosmopolitan. |
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| The Fountains of Bellagio...set in an 8 acre manmade lake, has a network of pipes with more than 1200 nozzels that coordinate fountain displays with more than 4500 lights. The estimated cost...$40 million. The dancing water fountains are synchronized to music and yes Pat, we agree, by far the best attraction on the strip! |
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| A view of TI...we missed the pirate battles in Buccaneer Bay :( |
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| The Venetian...get this...4,049 suites, 4,059 hotel rooms, ane a 12,000 sq ft casino. All that makes it part of the largest five-diamond resort and complex in the world! |
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| The Forum Shops...a luxury mall connected to Ceasars Palace. Its the highest grossing mall in the US. |
It was such a fun night. I love the excitement and the people....all sorts of people...and the lights !
Well, I'm closing for now. We did go to Hoover Dam yesterday...incredible. We are planning a return trip (on the Harley) because we didnt have time to do everything. I so much want to see the view from the Memorial Bridge. Joe spent the morning at Vegas Trailor Supply getting the Jeep ready for towing.
Thank you so much for visiting. We have more new members...thanks to all of you for following our travels. We do appreciate the time you take to read our posts and write comments.
Y'all come back soon! Have a wonderful week-end and enjoy yourselves!
It was such a fun night. I love the excitement and the people....all sorts of people...and the lights ! 
