Las Vegas is a city of almost 600,000 people, and the center of
a population of almost 2 million in the Las Vegas valley and
Clark County. It is one of the fastest growing large cities
in the United States. The center of Las Vegas’ economy is
tourism, casino gambling, convention centers, and other forms
of entertainment, with a certain amount of finance, and real
estate interests also coming into play. In the area is Nellis
Air Force base. Las Vegas is at about 2,000 feet above sea
level, with higher mountains around it.
Some well known areas of Las Vegas, such as the Strip, extend
outside of the city limits. The mega-casinos of the strip
have become the real Vegas these days. The Mirage was
constructed on the strip in 1989. Then there is Circus, Circus
Hotel and Casino, with 3,700 rooms and a large number of
restaurants. Other casinos are still close to downtown,
like the California Hotel and Casino that actually seems to
have an affinity for Hawaii. It’s located a block away from
the Fremont Street Experience, and near the Bridge Ave. skywalk.
A space frame has been constructed over 5 blocks of Fremont St.
in Downtown Las Vegas, to create the “Freemont Street
Experience”, already home to a bunch of casinos. This frame
covers the street at a height of 90 feet. Every evening there
is a full light and sound show. Another construction project
in Las Vegas is the new Chinatown which features Asian markets
and restaurants.
Higher educational facilities include the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas located in nearby Paradise, Nevada and
the University of Nevada Medical School near downtown Las Vegas.
Other schools not far away are Nevada State College and Touro
University Nevada in nearby Henderson. The Community College of
Southern Nevada has campuses in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas
and Henderson.
The no corporate tax policy and easy requirement to start a
new corporation in Nevada, have helped attract banking and other
financial businesses to Las Vegas. This has helped diversify
the economy. Many large construction projects have changed the
face of Las Vegas already. The Stratosphere tower, at
1,149 feet is the tallest structure in the Western United
States, and was completed in 1996. The tower is part of the
Stratosphere Hotel and Casino, and on its top has a restaurant,
lounge, and a number of amusement rides. Probably, the largest
new office construction and group of mixed-use buildings are on
the site of Union Park, a 61 acre site that the city of Las Vegas
purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad. Hi-rise luxury condos
have been constructed in Las Vegas, especially along the Las
Vegas Strip, such as Turnberry Towers on the Strip. Other
condos are further out from the city, in gated communities,
and in some cases have their own golf course.
There is public transportation in Las Vegas, the CAT Bus,
which covers most of the Las Vegas valley. There is also
the 4 mile-long, and possibly expanding Las Vegas Monorail,
which runs north and south parallel to the Strip, from the MGM
Grand Hotel, to the Sahara. The McCarran International Airport
provides commercial flights and serves private aircraft, domestic
and international passenger flights, and freight/cargo flights.
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