las vegas became a gambling town in the early 20th century.
las vegas became a gambling town in the early 20th century.
when did las vegas become a gambling town?
early 20th century
realizing that gambling would be profitable for local business, the nevada state legislature legalized gambling at the local level in 1931. las vegas, with a small but already well-established illegal gambling industry, was poised to begin its rise as the gaming capital of the world. 









































the county issued the first gambling license in 1931 to the northern club, and soon other casinos were licensed on fremont street like the las vegas club and the hotel apache. fremont street became the first paved street in las vegas and received the city's first traffic light in 1931.
history of las vegas
historically, the most prominent issue with sports in las vegas was the perceived problem of legal sports betting. traditionally, all four major professional sports leagues had strong anti-gambling policies, prohibiting their personnel from having any involvement in gambling. the nfl took the toughest stance, even refusing to accept las vegas tourism advertising for super bowl telecasts and threatening to file suit against any local hotels holding super bowl parties. hotels got around the legal threat by referring to the super bowl as "the big game" rather than its actual name in advertising. in addition, some potential owners believed a professional sports franchise would have difficulty gaining an audience, given las vegas's numerous entertainment options. a number of prior professional football teams in the city ranked at or near last in their leagues in attendance over the years, such as the las vegas posse, las vegas locomotives and arena football las vegas outlaws. las vegas also has a high percentage of residents working in 24-hour occupations, many of whom work nights and weekends when most games would be played. several owners of other sports franchises disagreed. miami marlins owner jeffrey loria described las vegas as "a potential gold mine" for a professional sports team owner. dallas mavericks owner mark cuban was also quoted saying that las vegas would be a good professional sports town.
sports in the las vegas metropolitan area