[Botev1912]

I heard the famous Las Vegas boulevard (where the hotels are) is not in Las Vegas, but it's in Paradise, NV which is an unincorporated area in Clark County. Is that true? What is the reason for that? And why does everyone know this is the real Las Vegas?

[NLVgal]

The strip area is not in Las Vegas, but downtown is. Las Vegas Blvd. also extends into the city of North Las Vegas.

[Harrier]

A book that I read contained a chapter about Las Vegas history and stated that the owner of the first hotel/casino on the "Strip" - the El Rancho(opened in 1941) placed it just south of Sahara Blvd because that was(and still is) where the city limits of Las Vegas ended and he was able to avoid paying city taxes and didn't need to buy a gambling license. (The book is titled Super Casino by Pete Earley and mainly deals with the explosion of the mega-resorts during the 1990's).

Get confirmation from the locals in this forum.

[Willy702]

The city of Las Vegas begins at Sahara and goes north. Paradise is just some legacy name which few people could ever really describe what area it includes and I am not sure it includes all of the Strip. Doesn't matter you would never mail a letter there or tell anyone that is where you live, it's still considered Las Vegas to everyone except politicians

[Buzz123]

Las Vegas Boulevard actually runs from the California border at Primm to I-15 north of Nellis AFB. At Fremont it splits into Las Vegas Boulevard North and Las Vegas Boulevard South. There is no North Las Vegas Blvd, nor South Las Vegas Blvd. The Strip is that part of Las Vegas Boulevard from Sahara Ave to Russell Road. The Strip will never be annexed by Las Vegas because of city taxes, and one more entity that requires a license. The city would love to annex the Strip but money talks and BS walks. They do pay county and state taxes.

The county is administered by the County Commission which really has more power than the city commission. The county is just over 8,000 square miles which is nearly as big as Vermont or New Hampshire. Larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island together. There are several unincorporated areas in Clark County such as Paradise Township and Winchester Township, as well as a handful of incorporated towns like Mesquite, Searchlight, and Laughlin. I think Enterprise is a township too. There are several outside of town such as Mt. Charleston, probably Cold Creek, Blue Diamond, etc.

The townships do have definite boundaries, but it really doesn't affect the residents here in what we call Las Vegas much. Last time I looked there were Town Boards in those townships that report to the County Commission. I've never understood how one gets on a town board, or what they do, but it always seemed to me like they were more of a large HOA or something. As far as I know I've never known a Town Board member but I've read in the paper from time to time that they met to decide this or that, such as no gas stations or stores on Mt. Charleston except for the hotel and the Lodge.

Most people in the Las Vegas Valley just say they are from Las Vegas. I believe you'll find that the Las Vegas Valley itself is larger than Rhode Island, so don't be surprised by the political and geographical boundaries. Channel 3 was once located at the corner of Desert Inn Rd and Boulder Highway. We found the original FCC license hidden away someplace which considered it to be in Cow Springs, NV.

[BBMW]

As more people actually start living around the strip (with all the condo), I wonder if they decide that want to incorporate into their own city, and split off from the Clark County gov't (a la Henderson)

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by BBMW

As more people actually start living around the strip (with all the condo), I wonder if they decide that want to incorporate into their own city, and split off from the Clark County gov't (a la Henderson)

I heard somewhere that Summerlin tried to do that, but their efforts were thwarted. The CC Commission is very powerful, (and often corrupt) and they intend to keep it that way.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

I heard the famous Las Vegas boulevard (where the hotels are) is not in Las Vegas, but it's in Paradise, NV which is an unincorporated area in Clark County. Is that true? What is the reason for that? And why does everyone know this is the real Las Vegas?

I first noticed this when Facebook potings I made while on the strip would locate me in Paradise, NV.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by BBMW

As more people actually start living around the strip (with all the condo), I wonder if they decide that want to incorporate into their own city, and split off from the Clark County gov't (a la Henderson)

If the unincorporated area known as Paradise did that - it would become the nations 91st largest city - just behind Reno and ahead of Chesapeake, Virginia.

[irishspy]

http://living-las-vegas.com/2010/02/where-is-paradise/ Here is an explanation of how Paradise was developed and the history of it. I just bought a home in Paradise.