The City of Las Vegas: The Early Years

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I lived in Las Vegas from 1/1979 to 10/1983, and Reno for a brief period of time in 1987, and then again 7/2003 to 10/2007. NV is my second home away from WI. The state I've lived in more years other than Wisconsin. I like NV, but it's changed so much since even when I left Reno, mainly because of the mass exodus from CA people moving there, that I have no interest in it anymore.

But when I happened on this program about it's early years, once I started watching it I couldn't quit. As a history buff, this was just too engrossing to stop watching. It's just mind boggling how it sprung up so fast from nothing, a little dirt stop in the middle of nowhere, and it never stopped...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyMm5DdqAY

[High_Plains_Drifter]

And the mob was still very much there when I got there in early 1980, until Sheriff Moran was elected who campaigned on cleaning out the mob and getting all the street walker prostitutes off the streets, which he did, in large part, but they were still there. I remember hearing about the "known hit man," Tony Spilatro, numerous times in the news when I was there, until he was arrested. Many of the casinos since I lived there have been demolished, and you can no longer drive on Freemont street up near Las Vegas Blvd for about 5 blocks.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9O-O_f8XEo