When The Mirage opened on Thanksgiving weekend in 1989, it marked the first major hotel to be constructed in Las Vegas in 16 years. The city had experienced steady but unspectacular growth since the last major opening, the original MGM Grand in 1973, and this new and extravagant hotel - with its exploding volcano out front, dolphin pool, shark-infested aquarium behind the registration desk, and distinctly Un-Vegassy, lush South Pacific theme - was a question mark in the minds of many long-time gaming analysts.

Was The Mirage just that: an illusion in the desert that would dissolve investor dollars and stock prices as one took a closer look?

The answer, of course, was no. The exact opposite happened. The hotel proved to be an instant success and spawned an unmatched period of tremendous expansion and innovation along the magical five-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard known as The Strip.

Four years later, in 1993, a new and far more spectacular MGM Grand arose from the ground a couple miles north of The Mirage and raised the bar once again on the variety and dimension of entertainment that Las Vegas could provide the world at large. With its 5,000 rooms, varied restaurants, and a Grand Garden Arena that drew the top acts in the world - beginning with Barbra Streisand's out-of-retirement concert on New Year's Eve - MGM Grand demonstrated once again that there were no limits to how far Las Vegas was willing to go to preserve its reputation as the Entertainment Capital of the World.

While The Mirage and MGM Grand were wowing tourists and critics alike with magnificent dining, entertainment, shopping, spa facilities, and other five-star amenities previously not found in Las Vegas, a number of other destination resorts were developed along The Strip in the middle and late 1990s. The resurgence of interest in the city propelled tourism numbers steadily higher. Then along came Bellagio, and with it the standards of beauty and excellence offered by Las Vegas properties were elevated once again. With its breathtaking dancing waters, floral glass sculptures in the entryway, world-class art gallery, and awe inspiring horticulture garden, Bellagio issued a clear message to travelers that there was no city in the world that could compare with Las Vegas for variety of selection and quality of choices.