Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/109603
Elvis and Priscilla Presley board a private jet after their 1967 wedding at the Aladdin. FLY ME TO VEGAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY WALTER BIBIKOW (STRIP), BETTMANN/CORBIS (PRESLEY) MCCARRAN CELEBRATES 50 YEARS���AND OUR RAPID TRANSFORMATION FROM AN ISOLATED ROAD-TRIP STOP ON THE WAY TO LA TO A BOOMING INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION. BY DAVE BERNS P rimed with loans from the Teamsters union pension fund, the mob-run properties of the 1950s were poised to establish Las Vegas as America���s exciting, risqu�� getaway. There were the Dunes, Sahara, Desert Inn, Stardust, Riviera, Sands���anyone living in postwar America could recite the names without a travel brochure. Tens of millions of dollars were being spent on a slew of new gambling resorts. But despite all the money, Las Vegas remained isolated in the Mojave Desert; accessibility from other cities in the US and abroad was a major challenge. There were financial hiccups, temporary closures, and concerns that the desert city was overbuilt. But an even more powerful investment was on the horizon, and it would change the future of Las Vegas. In 1958, major American airlines began flying larger, more luxurious jets���planes that could carry nearly 200 passengers each, an unheard-of figure for commercial air travel at the time. Boeing 707s (and, later, 720Bs) and Douglas DC-8s required longer runways and greater amenities for travelers, who generated significant profits for airports and the local governments that operated them. The new planes flew at speeds near 600 mph and shrank the travel time from coast to coast, increasing the likelihood that tourists and business travelers would be willing to venture farther. The next move was clear to Las Vegas Valley business and political leaders: McCarran Airport, with its handful of gates and short runways, lacked the infrastructure to meet the needs of the jet age. It was time for a makeover. VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 104-109_V_Feat_FiftyandFab_Spring13.indd 105 105 2/11/13 1:01 PM