Ask anyone outside of Nevada what they associate with the state and the answer is bound to be Las Vegas. However, the fact is there\u2019s a lot more to Nevada than just Las Vegas\u2019 latest nightclub drama and casino debauchery. On the contrary, Nevada is actually one of the most nuanced states in the country, a multicultural, multifaceted place that says a lot about where America is and is headed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may be \u201cThe Silver State,\u201d but these 10 facts about Nevada shows why it takes home the gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s get the obvious out of the way first \u2013 yes, Las Vegas is the gambling capital of America, home of some of the glitziest and gaudiest sights you\u2019ll ever see, and a place that has more neon and nightclubs than anyone could ever want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Las Vegas is home to some of the most famous casinos in the world, from Caesar\u2019s Palace and the Venetian to the MGM Resort and Casino, Flamingo, Mirage, Luxor, and many more. \u201cThe Strip\u201d is the undisputed gambling capital of America and one of the biggest gambling centers in the world. In addition to these multi-billion dollar pleasure palaces, the area is also dotted with many smaller casinos. Together, 41 million people visit Las Vegas annually<\/a>, spending $35.5 billion in 2017 alone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the decades, the Las Vegas Strip has also been home to a wide range of internationally famous acts, from Elvis Presley and Elton John to Siegfried and Roy and Penn and Teller. The Sinatra Family in particular was a mainstay, with Frank Sinatra<\/a>, Frank Sinatra Jr.<\/a>, and Nancy Sinatra<\/a> all headlining acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How did we get such a debauched, rowdy, wild center of pure excess? Military strictness, of course. When Nevada became home for increased military activity during the Cold War, it was thought that officers and soldiers needed a place to, well, \u201cunwind\u201d from all that military regimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clich\u00e9 as it may seem, everyone should take a page out of Elvis Presley\u2019s book and Viva Las Vegas<\/em><\/a> \u2013 at least once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if you just know \u201cthe Strip\u201d part of Las Vegas, you\u2019ve only seen a tiny fraction of this lovely city. Fun and glitzy though the Strip may be, it\u2019s actually somewhat unrepresentative of the rest of what is otherwise a very kind and close knit area. Las Vegas is a bit like an otherwise-calm college dorm that happens to have one apartment that\u2019s filled with the raunchiest frat boys or sorority sisters on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of the Strip, Las Vegas is actually a reasonably quiet city with a strong sense of community<\/a>. That balance between big city glitz and small town community is honestly one of the best things about Nevada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, but Las Vegas is a city on the rise. The population has been growing, with Nevada ranking in the top five states by population growth<\/a> in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Las Vegas may not be the first place you think of when you think of small town wholesomeness, but the Strip aside, maybe it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of this population growth and growing prominence, Las Vegas has scored the true measure of respect for any American city \u2013 professional sports teams in the Big Four North American Sports. The Las Vegas Knights were born just a couple years ago. The NHL has a bad record with teams in the middle of hot dusty deserts (we\u2019re looking at you<\/em>, Phoenix Coyotes), but surprisingly, the Las Vegas Knights have passed the attendance and public interest test thus far. Even more shockingly for an expansion team, Las Vegas not only made the playoffs, but came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, oh yes, the formerly Oakland (and, for a while, Los Angeles) Raiders have continued their nomadic ways and officially made the move to the desert. When the next season opens, the NFL\u2019s most infamous band of rebels and rulebreakers will be the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However the Silver and Black fare amidst the Silver State and Blackjack Tables, there\u2019s no denying that with teams in two of the Big Four North American Leagues, Las Vegas is on the sporting map, and for more than just boxing and sports betting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How about a couple of cities that aren\u2019t Las Vegas? There\u2019s more to Nevada than just Sin City, and Reno and Laughlin prove so admirably. Both are great entertainment towns in their own right. Reno is home to an air balloon race and the National Automobile Museum, Laughlin is home to its own slate of casinos, and both cities play host to still more entertainment acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you get away from the nightlife and entertainment acts, you might think that you\u2019ll be free from any more Nevada-centric drama. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. The Hoover Dam was, at the time of its construction, the largest concrete structure in the world \u2013 and it also produced its own big controversy over the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dam was begun in 1931 while Herbert Hoover was President, and some had the idea that the dam would be named after him. If you know your American history, you know Hoover routinely ranks as one of the worst Presidents in American history for his slow and largely terrible response to the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Presidency in 1932, and again in 1936, when the dam was completed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Hoover was infamous for his failure during the Great Depression, FDR was a huge job creator, with massive public works projects such as the Hoover Dam<\/a> giving many Americans much-needed jobs and starting the road back to recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citing Hoover\u2019s terrible record and the fact that the town was near the city of Boulder City \u2013 which was founded in 1931 for the sole purpose of housing people working on the dam<\/a> \u2013 FDR loyalist Harold Ickes suggested it be called Boulder Dam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both names were used until an act of Congress officially named it Hoover Dam in 1947.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the naming controversy, the statistics remain staggering even 86 years later: 726.4 ft tall, with an installed capacity of 2,080 megawatts, and it generates about 4 billion kilowatt-hours every year for citizens of Nevada as well as California and Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. The \u201cReal\u201d Las Vegas<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. From Slot Machines to Slot Receivers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Reno and Laughlin <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Hoover Dam<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Lake Mead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n