MARCH 19th - Vegas is Totally like She's All That



On this day in 1931, the state of Nevada legalized gambling. The country was in the middle of the Great Depression, and the higher-ups in Nevada figured what better way to generate revenue than taking it from people who barely had any themselves. Of course Las Vegas, which had only been founded in 1905, became the hub of this experiment and grew into the gambling summit of the world. I can’t think of an external decision that has affected a city more. Venice was built on water out of fear of invaders, Rome gained its history, as did France and England, and myriad other cities. But Nevada was just like, “You can gamble here.” And people did. They were also like “Hey, mafia guys, come on down. It’s a dry heat.” And, “Let’s make the oldest profession legal as well.” And Vegas benefited. Otherwise, it would have stayed a hole in the desert. Instead, it was like the nerdy girl in a teen movie who caught the eye of the football captain who had only recently been dumped by the hottest girl in school, and decided to make over this little nerdy girl, most likely because his friends bet him he couldn’t make Nerdy Girl popular. Basically Las Vegas, Nevada is like She’s All That. Except Nerdy Girl was a young city in the desert, the football captain was a bunch of desperate politicians and the bet involved a lot of money, a lot more people, and infinitely more dignity being lost. Vegas, Baby. Vegas. Totally like She’s All That.

This day has been Marked.

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