General Info:
The commercial What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas was one of a series promoting the world's most popular gambling destination from 2003 to 2007. It was a hugely successful advertising campaign by any measure, reviving and effectively rebranding the image of struggling Las Vegas as Sin City. Earlier, in the 1990s, casino megaresorts like The Luxor, Treasure Island, Excalibur, New York New York, and Circus Circus had Disneyfied themselves, adding video arcades, roller coasters, water slides, amusement parks, and every other family friendly amenity. It was an expensive gambit, and by the end of the decade, casino executives realized that it simply wasn't going to payoff. Las Vegas wasn't Orlando, nor would it ever be. The city was in need of a serious makeover. Sin City then changed back to doing what it did best, but this time with trendy upscale restaurants and boutique hotels in place of seedy old motels and $9.99 buffets. Tourism soared, with annual visitors approaching 40 million a year. Vegas surpassed Orlando and New York as the most visited place in America and one of the most visited places on earth. The years from 1990 to 1996 brought the largest expansion of legalized gambling in U.S. history, and the industry became more organized and more powerful than ever. From Maryland to Kansas, Florida to Iowa, casino-style gambling was sold to the public as a sure thing to boost sagging state revenues. It was ironic: as Las Vegas tried and failed to become more like the rest of America, the rest of America became more like Las Vegas.A cultural convergence was under­ way. Risk-taking as entertainment became more popular than ever.

Firms: Company
Employees
Local offices/locations
Type of business
Year est. locally Top executive
1
MGM Resorts International

54,250
14
hotel-casino operator
1986
Jim Murren, chairman, CEO
2
Caesars Entertainment Corp.

27,860
10
hotel-casino operator
1966
Gary Loveman, chairman, president, CEO
3
Station Casinos LLC

13,000
18
hotel-casino operator
1976
Frank Fertitta III, chairman, CEO
4
Wynn Resorts

11,720
2
hotel-casino operator
2005
Steve Wynn, chairman, CEO
5
Boyd Gaming Corp.

9,350
9
hotel-casino operator
1974
Bill Boyd, executive chairman
6
Las Vegas Sands Corp.

8,630
2
hotel-casino operator
1990
Sheldon Adelson, chairman, CEO

Themed Urban Landscape:
Las Vegas is an example of an artificial and themed urbanity and possess remarkable basic requirements under the aspect of an "Economy of Fascination": in Las Vegas the entertainment industry was able not only to resort to ample funds from the gambling sector and from Wall Street, but also to administrative freedom with regard to urban planning and gambling licenses. In the past decades, Las Vegas realised spectacular projects with extensive financial investments that have not only changed the urban landscape, but have also created genuinely artificial worlds.

Since the hotels and shopping malls 'recreate' entire cities and eras, the costs are correspondingly high. Construction costs of several billion dollars and daily operating costs of more than one million dollars are very common for Las Vegas theme hotels . However, increasing revenues make these investments worthwhile and are leading to the development of even larger establishments, such as the Venetian in Las Vegas, which, with over 6,000 rooms after its extension will be the largest hotel in the world.

In the course of these developments Las Vegas has, during the past two decades, undergone a successful transformation from a gambling paradise to a fully diversified entertainment destination. The many casinos still play amajor role, but apart