Lake Bellagio evokes the serenity and elegance of Lake Como.

A rush to build on The Strip consumed the 1990s, altering not only the skyline of The Strip but also the culture of Las Vegas. During the decade, new hotels rose one after another and Las Vegas doubled the number of hotel rooms in the city to 130,000 by 2005. At the same time, the local population doubled and doubled again, reaching 1.8 million. The jobs created by the expanded hotel industry drew people from all over the world and growth demanded a larger professional class than ever before. All these newcomers proved that Las Vegas had left the fringe for the center. N o one looked down on Las Vegas anymore. Instead, they revered it as an economic and cultural model of success.

The reinvention of the city followed with an unparalleled zest. Between 1993 and 2000, Las Vegans were treated to the demolition of much of their recent history. Five hotels—the Dunes, the Sands, the Landmark, the Hacienda, and the Aladdin—were all imploded to make room for new construction. Bellagio replaced the Dunes, substituting Italy for the desert, and with the construction of a faux Venice at the Venetian, Paris at Paris Las Vegas and Sinatra’s New York at New York-New York, a visitor could travel the world in one block of The Strip. Las Vegas had replaced itself, becoming every city on the planet.

As the 21st century gathered momentum, Las Vegas finally shared greater commonality with the rest of the nation in how its people lived and worked. Gaming spread throughout the nation—usually run by Las Vegas companies—and Las Vegas exported its version of the new economy to Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, and elsewhere. Once an outcast, Las Vegas was the model of the post-industrial society. As it became the norm, Las Vegas became the first city of the new century that owed its allegiance to the signs and symbols of a culture of entertainment.