The Strip in Las Vegas, Las Vegas

There are only 3.8 miles that encompass the area known as The Strip in Las Vegas, bit a lot is packed into that distance. The well known sign that tells everyone Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada is an icon. The boundaries start at Russell Road on the South to Sahara Avenue on the North end. While some of The Strip is in the town of Las Vegas, some of it is in Paradise and Winchester. These are unincorporated areas.

The Strip has nineteen hotels with the largest room count. There are only twenty five in the world that can make this claim. When totaled together, The Strip has more than 67,000 rooms. The road has had another name before it became known as The Strip. It was originally named the Arrowhead Highway or Los Angeles Highway. Supposedly a L.A. police officer coined the name "The Strip'' after Los Angeles' own Sunset Strip.

The Stratosphere Hotel is at the northern boundary of The Strip and at this time the Mandalay Bay is considered the southern end. Before the Mandalay Bay was built it ended at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

While the Pair-O-Dice Club was built in 1931 and was the first casino on Nevada Highway 91 it isn't considered the first casino on The Strip. That honor goes to the El Rancho Vegas in 1941. This hotel and casino boasted forty one rooms. A fire consumed the hotel in 1960. After this first hotel the Hotel Last Frontier came along in 1942 followed by the Flamingo in 1946. Although the Flamingo has seen many changes it is still on the Las Vegas Strip.

One of the largest hotels on The Strip opened in 1969 with the name of the International Hotel. It is the Las Vegas Hilton today. There were 1,512 rooms when the doors were first opened.

There have been many famous performers throughout the years that helped make the Las Vegas Strip a world- wide name. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Wayne Newton are just a few of the well known names that have entertained in the many theaters along The Strip.

Many of the hotels have tried to have amusement parks or arcades, but only a few have succeeded. This brought children into what had previously been a town for adults. The prices for the rooms, inexpensive buffets and amusements for the children made it a family vacation destination. There is a mixture on The Strip today with the hotels, casinos, shopping and gentlemen's clubs all co-existing.

Boutique shops, jewelry stores such as Cartier and many designer clothing stores are all along the famous Strip. Some are located in the hotels while others have their own venues such as the Fashion Show Mall. A sixty six acre City Center has been under construction since 2006. It is supposed to be finished in 2009. This mega complex will house a hotel, casino, retail shops and condos. There may be other things on the site as well. There are monorails, busses, trolleys, taxis and two small trams that take people up and down The Strip.