In addition to its most famous points of interest like magnificent hotels and casinos, clubs and restaurants, shows and shopping malls, Las Vegas has a collection of fascinating, lesser known attractions that are often bypassed... Read More »
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Las Vegas
Weather not available.
- Established:
- 1911
- Time Zone:
- PST (UTC−8)
- Population:
- 583,756
- Currency:
- USD
- Language:
- English
Description
The amazing thing about Las Vegas is that everything you thought was debauched and wrong turns out to be normal and available, except with better lighting and a thin veneer of stripper perfume and cocaine. The casino-hotels are thrilling monuments with lots of debauchery and luxury. Vegas is one of the few places in the world where you can go to for the weekend, empty the contents of your wallet, not quite remember what happened and still feel like you had a great time. It’s the prime destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties, for obvious reasons. On the Strip, you mainly find Midwestern Americans, other tourists and hookers.
Las Vegas is a sin-city entertainment destination for party-going tourists and professional gamblers, but in an unexpected twist, the suburbs of Vegas have become flush with families recently who are relocating there from L.A., New York and Boston. As part of the suburban development, the restaurant industry has expanded and some of the best food in the U.S. can be found both at the casinos and off the Strip. When Guy Savoy, a world-famous chef with his own restaurant in Paris, moved to open a second restaurant in the U.S., he chose the MGM Grand in Vegas.
The Strip, which encompasses most of the major the resorts, hotels and casinos in Vegas is technically located in Clark County, outside of the city limits of Vegas. Years ago, Clark County made that permanent through a legal maneuver when Vegas was trying to appropriate the Strip for itself so that it could collect the property taxes on it. For entertainment outside of the gambling scene, there are luxury spas and pools, a good art scene and better bars outside of the Strip.
J-connection:
Many Jews have up and moved to a place in the desert (again). The Jewish population of Vegas is rising rapidly, lured by the prospect of cheaper housing, a high median income, business opportunities and like everything in Vegas, the synagogues are within walking distance. There are 13 in total; six are Orthodox.
Summerlin in Clark County, a planned city, and Green Valley in Henderson are home to tightly knit Jewish communities with a combination of young families, single professionals and sunny retirees. According to a popular study by the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, 600 Jews relocate there each month. There are plenty of kosher restaurants and entire food sections of grocery stores are dedicated to kosher foods.
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Featured Articles
In the nineteenth century, the city that we know today as Las Vegas was a green, flourishing area, fed with water from artesian wells, and named The Meadows (Las Vegas) because of the resulting greenery. The start of modern-day... Read More »
One thing Las Vegas does not lack is a variety of hotels. The famous, or sometimes infamous “strip” is covered in over-sized, luxurious and often wacky hotels and resorts. With so many choices at hand, you’ll... Read More »
Though lady luck may not always shine upon you, gambling is the reason Las Vegas exists and no visit is complete without placing at least one bet. So whether it’s slots, blackjack, poker, craps, baccarat, roulette, keno,... Read More »