Different Las Vegas

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?
 
Cheap & easy divorces might be harder to get. (OTOH, Reno might be more attractive.)

There wouldn't be so damn many "CSI" clones.:cool::p (OTOH, David Caruso would probably be out of work.:eek::p)

There would be more Mafiosi convicted for money laundering, seeing how easy it is in Vegas. (Probably less money in play since the '50s, too.) Ben Siegel might have lived past 1960.
 
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?
 
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?
Didnt it already exist in Havana before being forced to move to Vegas?
 
I think there was several other cities going on the same path as Vegas but only Vegas made it. So could have one of them take that role.
 
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".
 
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".

The actual events that lead to Las Vegas not going like ours is ASB but its before it properly takes off anyway. I'm not sure if i want Vegas to still exist or to just loose allot of land. The POD is essentially the 30's but major changes don't happen until the 40's or early 50's (most likely late 40's) but its a bit of a slow decline. By the late 70's Vegas looses everything north of the strip and overall the area does not become a very attractive location (but thats to do with the slow decline as well).

I am assuming that loosing Las Vegas itself and the area becoming rather unpleasant would stop the Strip from fully developing leaving the former Las Vegas as the remains of Paradise and Henderson. Another thing is the change in road as the former Las Vegas will be a no go zone for traffic. So just south of the Strip the interstate 15 (i think that is what it is) would take right through Henderson then along the lakes to the east before meeting up its OTL route at Moapa Valley
 
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.

It's not just legalizing gambling, it's how liberal. Casinos can spring up right and left in Nevada. With the power and water from Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, the region was development waiting to happen in the thirties. Could Las Vegas have been a military Mecca to rival El Paso and San Antonio, yes. Once the dice started to roll, they didn't stop. By the fifties, the rest of the country saw a growing consumer economy and a shrinking underworld, and it was appealing to shut down slot machines.

Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to why entertainment settles in a particular area. Look at Branson, Missouri, often regarded as the "Christian" counterpart of Las Vegas, with no gambling. When Table Rock Lake was built in the fifties, the region appealed to fishing and boating. A few exhibits based on hillbilly lore sprang up and that was the region through the sixties. Then something changed in the seventies. Country music artists began setting up shop there. Why? Isn't Nashville the seat of country music? By the nineties, acts from Las Vegas joined them: Andy Williams, Bobby Vinton, Tony Orlando, Wayne Newton and more. Why a place like Branson, when nearby cities like Tulsa and Little Rock had Interstate highways and a decent infrastructure?
 
I've heard that Las Vegas only became the big gambling center after Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba--Havana was more of an attraction for casinos, legitimate and otherwise. Replace Fulgencio Batista with anyone else, and Las Vegas might not be able to compete against an already-established scene. Maybe movies like the original Ocean's 11 get filmed there instead?
 
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