Las Vegas, located in southwestern Nevada, is the gambling mecca—the place most gamblers dream of visiting—of the United States. Surrounded by a combination of mountains and desert, it is a city of glitz, of neon-lit streets, and of luxurious casinos that attract visitors to wager their money and, perhaps, if luck shines on them, win.

Las Vegas was established by a land grant in 1835. The area originally was called Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Las Vegas Grandes (Our Lady of the Sorrows of the Great Meadows). The name eventually was shortened to Las Vegas (The Meadows). The area soon was charted by explorer John C. Frémont (1813–1890). Las Vegas became a trading post along the Santa Fe Trail. The Mormons also colonized it. Just after the turn of the twentieth century, Las Vegas was a small watering hole with several hotels and...