Sometimes it's hard to remember the pioneers who started that part of the game industry.
When it opened 25 years ago, Sam's Town was a pioneer who was on the dusty edge of Las Vegas at the time but at the cutting edge of the gaming industry.
"The idea of a local casino off-strip unrelated to downtown Las Vegas or Henderson was a huge leap at the time," said Hal Rothman, president of the Las Vegas Department of History at Nevada State University. "Others said it was someone's idea where no one's time came, but it was all proven wrong."
The chairman of Boyd Gaming Corp. Bill Boyd said that when the Boulder Strip's landmark opened, it was built on a 13-acre desert with nowhere near the intersection of Boulder Highway and Nellis Boulevard, when his friends asked him if he had lost his marbles.
But Boyd said Sam's Town has been well received by residents in the area since opening day, unlike the opening of some local casinos that often cause protests and demonstrations.
With the hotel complex on top of casinos and other attractions, Boyd said Sam's Town has always been successful in attracting car visitors, especially from California.
The spirit remained the same, but technology and amenities changed with the times.
Rothman said Sam's Town and its owner, Boyd Gaming Corporation, have made innovation a tenet over the past 25 years and helped define the local gaming market.
"Sam's Town, the dream of Sam and Bill Boyd's father and son who founded Boyd Gaming, opened especially at a time when hotels were not being built in the desert," he said.
"Their innovation, then and now, is to understand the changing market. It's not a small gambler market, it's a top spot featuring country music, NASCAR culture, and domestic kindness.
"It's pioneering in many ways, and it's a vision of owners, top managers, and employees," Rothman said. 파워볼실시간
Sam Boyd, a bingo operator in California and Hawaii, came to Las Vegas in 1941 and worked as an investor in a dealer at a Nevada casino, eventually buying shares in the Sahara and Mint.
He invested in a plaza downtown. He built a California hotel downtown and an Eldorado in Henderson. But after working as a lawyer in Las Vegas for 15 years, Sam and his son Bill wanted to include their last name, revolutionize the industry, and create a third major gaming district on the Boulder Strip.
As a result, Sam's Town today has more than 3,000 slots and video games, more than 70 table games, 60 big screen television and racing and sports books with daily bingo in its 111,641 square foot casino.
