Nevada Travel Guide

Lets not beat around the sagebrush, although it has some stunning scenery no one goes to Nevada for that. There are Ghost Towns, the Hoover Dam and the wide-open vistas we imagine of the American west, but no one comes here to look at these. People come to Nevada for one reason only. They come to gamble.

Nevada was really nothing more than a place to pass through on the way to California for many years. Initially it was part of the Utah territory but became a state in its own right in 1864. This happened shortly after a huge silver find was made in 1859, just when the Government needed money to fund the war. That was lucky wasn't it?!

When the silver (The Comstock Lode) was played out, the budding population went into reverse. It revived briefly at the start of the 20th century with more mineral discoveries and agriculture began to develop as an industry. The Depression put an end to all this and in 1931 the State Government took the decision to legalise and therefore tax gambling. Now as a major tourist attraction fuelled by electricity from the Hoover Dam and mans insatiable desire to throw his money away Nevada is a huge money-spinner. There is still mining, farming and ranching. The military use its wide-open spaces for air and nuclear weapon testing. No one seems bothered, as long as the casinos stay open.