79 (D-52) Las Vegas: a little history

79 (D-52) Las Vegas is called Vegas for short.

In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or meadows. Vegas in Spanish means "meadows" !!
(For "artesian wells", see http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puits_art%C3%A9sien)


On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young sent 30 missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population to Mormonism. However, Mormons abandoned Las Vegas in 1857.


Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a popular railroad town in the early 1900s.


The completion of the nearby Hoover Dam in 1935 resulted in the growth of residents and tourism.


The legalization of gambling in 1931 led to the advent of the casino-hotels, for which Las Vegas is famous. Major development occurred in the 1940s. The success of the city's early casino businesses was owed to American organized crime.




In the late 1960s businessman Howard Hughes bought many casino-hotels, as well as television and radio stations in the city. Legitimate corporations began to buy casino-hotels as well, and the mob was run out by the federal government over the next several years.

Jane
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Beginners, you can go to Wikipedia Simple English: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,_Nevada
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VOCABULARY:
-- artesian wells = "puits artésiens", from the old French province of Artois
-- meadows = "prairies", "prés"
-- stopover = "une escale"
-- as well as = "ainsi que"
-- as well = also
-- mob = organized crime; "la pègre"
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IDIOMS:
--for short = As an abbreviation: He's called Tom for short.
--in short = In summary; briefly.
--short for = An abbreviation of: Tom is short for Thomas.
--short of =
1. Having an inadequate supply of: We're short of cash. (OR We're short ON cash.)
2. Less than: Nothing short of her best effort was necessary to become a member of the team.
3. Other than; without resorting to: Short of screaming at him, I had no other way to catch his attention.
4. Not quite willing to undertake or do; just this side of: She stopped short of throwing out the old photo.
--the short end of the stick: The worst side of an unequal deal.