What would the effects be on the world if Las Vegas grew into a not very notable town in southern Nevada rather than what it is in OTL?
Didnt it already exist in Havana before being forced to move to Vegas?I guess the question was the existence of something like Vegas inevitable? Would a big gambling and general sin industry town spring up somewhere else, or would simply nothing like that exist ITTL?
Atlantic City would be the fight sports and gambling hotspot, I guess.
Atlantic City would be the fight sports and gambling hotspot, I guess.
Gambling wasn't legal in Atlantic City until the 1970s, and a big reason why it was legalized was because New Jersey saw how much money Vegas was making and said, "We want a piece of that!" Most likely fate of Atlantic City without Vegas is that it continues its slide into irrelevance and urban decay and becomes New Jersey's second Camden -- in other words, kind of like OTL's Atlantic City, only without the flashy tourist district on the boardwalk. Other Jersey Shore communities, OTOH, may become more successful and prosperous without competition from Atlantic City.
Now, as to the OP, what kind of POD are we talking about? Is it one where Las Vegas is a part of Arizona or Utah? If so, then Reno becomes the gambling mecca. Like Vegas, it's within easy driving distance of a major metropolitan area (San Francisco/Oakland), the same advantage that allowed Vegas to boom. Is it a POD where Nevada never legalizes gambling? If so, then the gambling industry becomes more decentralized. In the early 20th century, cities like Galveston, Texas and Hot Springs, Arkansas had thriving casinos, most of which went under due to competition from Vegas. At least some of those places might survive if gambling is never legalized in Vegas.
As for Vegas itself, it's a much smaller city (no more than 300,000 people) with an economy centered on the military, Hoover Dam, aviation, and mining. Its Mormon minority is proportionally larger and has more influence, comparable to that of Mesa, Arizona. With America's main gambling center(s) located farther from the Mormon "heartland" (which here is viewed as including Vegas), there's likely a stronger stereotype of the whole area between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, as opposed to just Utah, being "Mormon country".
Is it a POD where Nevada never legalizes gambling? If so, then the gambling industry becomes more decentralized. In the early 20th century, cities like Galveston, Texas and Hot Springs, Arkansas had thriving casinos, most of which went under due to competition from Vegas. At least some of those places might survive if gambling is never legalized in Vegas.