The El Rancho Vegas opened its cowboy-themed doors on April 3, 1941, becoming the first hotel and casino to exist on the stretch of Route 91 that eventually became the Las Vegas Strip. Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images Las Vegas' first casino Using news outlets and historical archives, OLBG compiled a collection of photos that best exemplify Sin City's short, colorful history from the first casinos to some of the city's most famous residents. These hotels then needed performers, like Liberace and the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop), to entertain guests when they tired of the roulette tables and slot machines. Desperate to launder their money, powerful criminals opened luxurious resorts and casinos along a stretch of Route 91 (later the Las Vegas Strip) that attracted visitors from around the world. While the railroad was the first step in legitimizing Las Vegas, it was the arrival of the mob-and all of its money-in the 1940s that made the city the glamorous destination we know today. When the railroad arrived in 1905, the small settlement quickly went from a dusty outpost to the gambling capital of the world. Unlike New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles (which were all booming metropolises well before the Civil War), Las Vegas wasn't officially founded until the 20th century. As far as major American cities go, Las Vegas is by far the newest.
