American Experience: Las Vegas - An Unconventional History (6 of 75)
NARRATOR: But it wasn't until early 1931 that Nevada had truly solidified its reputation as the nation's rogue state.
At a time when games of chance were illegal everywhere else in the country, and diehard gamblers had to play in back alleys and underground clubs...
Nevada lawmakers had taken the scandalous step of legalizing wide-open, casino-style gambling.
Inside of a few months, Las Vegas's Fremont Street was wall-to-wall gambling houses, and penny slot machines had been installed in nearly every gas station and grocery store in town.
THOMSON: This allowed East Coast America, academia, Washington, the churches, to say Sodom and Gomorrah-- an enormous stain upon Nevada in the eyes of the East, which I think lingers to this day.
NARRATOR: Legal gambling alone would likely never have brought people to a place as remote as Las Vegas.
But with the pleasure-starved residents of Boulder City now just down the road, the desert outpost was about to make a killing.
Curiosity about the dam boosted business even further.
In 1932, some 100,000 people went to gawk at what was fast becoming known as the eighth wonder of the world, and many paused en route to sample the unique attractions of Las Vegas.
By that time, the opportunistic town had long since taken to billing itself as the "Gateway to the Boulder Dam."
Then, in 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt came to town.
ROOSEVELT: We are here to celebrate the completion of the greatest dam in the world. |
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