Las Vegas Known As Sin City
- Las Vegas Nevada, also known as Sin City, is a 1-stop wonderland for any adult with a taste for adventure. With an abundance of casinos, bars, and brothels.
- Las Vegas aka “Sin City” is a destination full of lights, action and adult entertainment. But if you really want to know why Las Vegas is called Sin City, you’ll have to go back a few years into Vegas’s history, to a time even before mobsters and crime bosses controlled the action in Las Vegas.
Vegas Sin City
Who gave Las Vegas its nickname, anyways?
While Las Vegas, as a whole, is the place known as 'Sin City,' the locus of the city's original red light district was Blocks 16 and 17. They were located at what is now Binion's Casino, bordered by Stewart Street to the north, Ogden to the south, First to the west, and S. Casino Center to the east.
In Las Vegas, it's legal for adults to do many things that are outlawed in most major cities, such as gambling or buying an alcoholic beverage at 4 a.m. Adult entertainment venues, also known as gentleman's clubs or strip clubs, abound. Many Las Vegas destinations cater to adult vices, hence the enduring Sin City moniker.
Why is it called Sin City?
The original 'Sin City' designation dates back to 1906 and an area called Block 16, which was on First Street between Ogden and Stewart avenues, according to the Las Vegas Sun. This area and the nearby Block 17 were legally allowed to sell liquor, offering drinks to railroad travelers and workers. Block 16 saloons soon started renting out back rooms or upstairs areas to prostitutes, who would give the bar a cut of their earnings. One of the early saloons, The Arizona Club, also became a gambling hall in 1912. All of Sin City's vices were fully available more than 100 years ago, long before the era of mobsters with casino connections.
What it means today
While prostitution is legal in Nevada, it's technically not legal in Las Vegas. The city is trying to veer away from its sordid past, offering more family-oriented destinations and activities such as theme-park-style rides and museums. Even though Vegas has many more family-friendly venues than it used to, it's still a top destination for adults seeking a place that, compared to most towns, seems to cater to 'sins,' or vices, such as lust, drinking and gambling.
Drinks are available virtually any time day or night; some casinos even hand them out for free. Unlike many other metropolitan areas, it's legal to carry an open container from place to place outdoors and even drink it out in public, as long as the container is plastic and the drink is consumed well away from schools or places of worship.
Vehicle-based signs and hired help near the strip promote gentleman's clubs as if these are the top attraction in Las Vegas. No matter your reason for visiting Vegas, it's virtually impossible not to notice the 'Sin City' implications all around, which is probably why it's also a favorite destination for bachelor parties, business meetups and other temporary escapes from the rules of day-to-day society.
Las Vegas is often referred to as Sin City because of its numerous adult attractions, which some may see as immoral, or sinful. This city, located in Nevada, is one of the most-visited cities in the world. It has numerous venues for adult entertainment, including gambling. Sexual services and adult beverages also are available most of the time. Las Vegas was also considered to be a city under mob rule at one time.
Millions of people visit Sin City each year. Although there are some family friendly attractions in this city, most sites are geared toward the adult visitors. The majority of these activities are considered to be immoral by many.
Las Vegas is probably most known for gambling and betting, which may thought of as sinful. Dozens of casinos and casino-hotels operate in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Boulevard, commonly referred to as the Las Vegas strip, or the strip, is where many of the flashier and best known casinos operate. These are often open and full of patrons around the clock.
Lust is considered to be another sin, and in Sin City there are several ways to satisfy one's lust. Gentlemen's clubs, better known as strip clubs, in Las Vegas are often frequented by both men and women. In these clubs, patrons can watch, and sometimes participate, as male or female dancers seductively disrobe.
Prostitution is also not uncommon in Sin City. Although it is illegal in Las Vegas, prostitutes can be often be found walking down the street. They can also be found soliciting clients in massage parlors, casinos, bars, and hotels.
Las Vegas Sin City Brewery
Nevada is the only state in the United States where prostitution is legal. Only certain counties, however, allow this, and Las Vegas is not in one of these counties. Many of the brothels are located in the empty Nevada desert, just a short trip from Sin City.
Alcoholic beverages can also be found fairly easily in Sin City. Nearly every hotel and casino has a bar. Many casinos even serve free drinks to those who are gambling. Drinking establishments can also be found outside of the casinos.
Along with its many other vices and sins, the history of Las Vegas history also is linked to organized crime. For a good part of the 20th century, there was an abundance of mob activity. Many of the major hotels and casinos were started or run by infamous mobsters. Frank Detra, friend to Al Capone, started one of the very first Las Vegas casinos on the strip, for instance. Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, Lucky Luciano, and Meyer Lansky were a few more infamous mobsters involved in the development of Sin City.
Sin City Las Vegas 2020
Near the end of the 20th century, however, city officials began trying to clean up the city. Their goal was to shed the Sin City image and make more families want to visit. The mission was partly successful, but since then, marketers have given up on the family image. Instead, Las Vegas is advertised as a place where adults can have fun and sin a little.