El Rancho Vegas opens, becoming the first hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip
El Cortez opens in Downtown Las Vegas
1942
Last Frontier Hotel (New Frontier, Frontier) opens on the Las Vegas Strip
1945
Nevada Legislature passes law shifting authority to grant gaming licenses from the local and county level to the State Tax Commission, and a tax of 1 percent of gross earnings was imposed on gaming licensees - first state tax on gambling
1946
Flamingo Hotel opens on Strip
Gaming tax goes into effect
Wagon Wheel Casino at South Lake Tahoe (Douglas County) opens
Nevada Club Casino opens in Reno
Tahoe-Biltmore Hotel-Casino constructed at Incline
Golden Nugget Casino opens in Downtown Las Vegas
Harrah's Club (later Harrah's Hotel and Casino) opens in Reno
1947
Gaming taxes total $670,000
Nevada Legislature passes increase in state gambling tax to 2 percent of gross winnings
The Mapes opens in Reno
1948
The Thunderbird opens on Las Vegas Strip
1949
Nevada Legislature passes bill allowing the State Tax Commission to investigate the background of persons applying for a gaming license
Sources: Nevada Historical Society; Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Michael Green (Community College of Southern Nevada); David Schwartz (University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research); “Roll The Bones: The History of Gambling” by David Schwartz; Gotham Books, 2006; and Nevada Magazine, March 2006.
1940
