Las Vegas Conventions, Trade Shows, Conferences and Meetings
Finding Conventions in Las Vegas can be quite time consuming. At Conventions.net, we provide you with an easy to use, efficient means of searching for event planning resources for trade shows, conferences, meetings, and conventions all in a manner of seconds. You have the opportunity to choose from a vast selection of convention centers and meeting facilities in Las Vegas. We developed Conventions.net to make the search for event planning resources easier than ever.

Locating Convention Centers and Trade Shows in Las Vegas
At one time the most efficient way to locate Convention and Trade Show planning resources in Las Vegas was to call company after company simply based on their yellow page ad. Now, when you use Conventions.net you can find meeting planning resources in Las Vegas that meet your specific needs. Not only is this a convenient way to quickly locate convention and conference planning resources, but it is also an excellent resource to find industry suppliers such as hotels, resorts, event speakers, convention centers, and convention visitor bureaus.

We are affiliated with both large nationwide trade show planning companies as well as smaller local convention industry suppliers, which offer trade show and convention planning resources in Las Vegas. So, if you are looking to plan a meeting, convention, or trade show in Las Vegas you have nothing to lose, and only time and money to gain by letting Conventions.net help you fill your event planning needs.

Perhaps no other city in the world is as misunderstood as Las Vegas. Although "Sin City," as it is commonly called, has only been around for about 50 years, it has left an indelible impression on the American consciousness. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion about Las Vegas. For some, the mere mention of the name conjures up vivid images of immorality and decadence--exotic women dancing topless on bar tables, crazed vacationers tossing mortgage notes out on the craps felt or oily-looking guys counting piles of laundered money in a shady back room. Las Vegas is often seen as being less of a community and more of a city where anything and everything goes.

While most of these images are based on misperceptions and half-truths, the city itself is at least partly to blame--if only because of its desire to define itself through hyperbole. From the carnival of lights in Glitter Gulch to the awesome string of resorts stretched out along the Strip, Las Vegas has made an art out of assailing the senses and, more often then not, the pocketbook.

Nevertheless, the city has aggressively upgraded its non gaming attractions. It's now possible to vacation in Vegas without ever hitting the casinos.
Without question, Las Vegas is still a gambling town. Yet while a big part of its meal ticket still comes from the gaming tables, the city is becoming increasingly family friendly. In fact, recent polls show that Las Vegas has become one of the most popular vacation destinations for families with children. Hotels such as Circus and Excalibur fiercely compete for the family market, and an increasing number of resorts--even the venerable Caesars Palace--have made an effort to increase their appeal among parents and families. In fact, the most immoral thing in most contemporary casinos is the decor. But since when has campiness been a crime?

Gambling capital, vacation paradise or premier business destination; these are all definitions of the city that never sleeps. Reality takes a hike when you enter the world of glittering casinos with their 24-hour gambling excitement. The scarcity of clocks adds to the fantasy of those taking time off from the real world. As a family vacation destination, the city offers the ultimate in entertainment for all ages. As a business destination, Las Vegas wins hands down with the volume of facilities and services available for either large conventions or small business get-togethers. Multitudes of upscale eateries are at your fingertips for a business lunch or dinner and after-hours entertainment is plentiful and diverse. Whether you are planning to move here, attend a business meeting, skydive, get married or just relax and enjoy, you will find Las Vegas to be a city like no other in the world.

The Strip: Las Vegas Boulevard
The fabled three-mile area holds more hotel rooms than any other city in the world. You will find the most famous and remarkable resorts such as Bellagio with its Italian Renaissance aura and Caesars Palace, the glory of Rome, Vegas-style. Old standbys include the Flamingo Hilton and the Mirage, with its white tigers and erupting volcanoes. See the Paris Las Vegas with outstanding replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and magnifique Parisian atmosphere and charm. Treasure Island offers daily live pirate battles, free of charge. At the "bottom" or south end of the strip, risen from the ashes of the Hacienda Hotel, now stands the magnificent Mandalay Bay with its tropical atmosphere and a pool with waves you can actually surf. At the top of the Strip, you will find the Stratosphere Tower visible from miles away. It is the highest free-standing building in the western half of the United States, with views from the top that are indescribable.

Downtown: Fremont Street
The original Las Vegas, where people hung out in the '30s and early '40s, is still thriving, but with a new face known as the Fremont Street Experience. Some tourists actually prefer this area to the Strip because room prices are generally lower, it's an easy walk from one casino to the next and it's reminiscent of the early, nostalgic days of Las Vegas. In addition, there are famous hotels such as The Plaza (formerly known as Union Plaza), overlooking Fremont Street, and the classic Golden Nugget. For nostalgia buffs, there is also the Golden Gate Hotel Casino, renovated to its earlier classic glory and appearance and still famous for the 99-cent shrimp cocktail.

Off-Strip
In recent years, hotels have sprouted up near the Strip, which are conveniently accessible by shuttle bus, taxi or car. Some of the better known of these are The Orleans, the Rio Suites and the Gold Coast on Flamingo. Further north on Sahara, is the Palace Station, the granddaddy of the Station Casinos with its original approach to fine buffet dining known as The Feast. To the east, there's the Las Vegas Hilton with the sprawling Convention Center. Further south, between Flamingo and Tropicana, east of the Strip, you will find the "must see" Hard Rock Hotel and Casino next to the original Hard Rock Cafe, each with its own fantastic giant neon guitar at the entrance.

Boulder Strip
This has become something of a phenomenon in itself. The Boulder Highway was once a sprawl of small motels and businesses, leading from Fremont Street eventually out to the city of Henderson and beyond that to Boulder City and Boulder Dam, also known as Hoover Dam. But in recent years it's become the "Second Strip" with its proliferation of large, popular hotels and casinos including the Boulder Station Hotel and Casino, one of the first properties to offer child-care at a nominal fee for children of both guests and non-guests, and Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, which has become the high standard of western-theme resorts with its Mystic Falls Indoor Park.

North Las Vegas
The city of North Las Vegas has the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a major tourist attraction in itself, as well as Nellis Air Force Base, one of the strongest military bases in the United States and home to the flying Thunderbirds. As far as accommodations are concerned, there are several popular spots including The Fiesta and Texas Station Hotel and Casino. There is also the Santa Fe in northwest Las Vegas, which is unique for its Olympic-style Santa Fe Ice Arena.

Summerlin
Located in the far northwest section of the Las Vegas valley, Summerlin is a planned community with homes, shops, recreational activities, festivals and concerts. A wonderful accommodation in this area is the Suncoast Hotel and Casino.

Beyond Las Vegas
For day trips that are well worth your time, check out nearby Boulder City, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam to the east and southeast. To the west, there is Red Rock Canyon and beyond that is Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Las Vegas
Historical Background

From its earliest beginnings, Las Vegas has catered to the traveler. A nomadic tribe of Indians called the Paiutes settled the area around the turn of the last millennium and occupied most of the area from Mt. Charleston to the Colorado River. Several traders and explorers including Jedediah Smith in 1826 and John C. Fremont in 1844 traveled through the area and made contact with the Paiutes. By 1851, Mormon president, Brigham Young, in his endeavor to create the State of Deseret stretching from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, made Las Vegas one of his important stopovers. To this end, he sent missionaries to colonize the region and convert the Paiute. The location they selected to establish their fort was on a promontory overlooking the Las Vegas Valley, which is now the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington. The Old Mormon Fort still has remnants of its original building. Eventually the settlement disbanded and most of the Mormon settlers returned to Utah.

However, a mining boom at nearby Mt. Potosi fostered a new influx of travelers, mainly miners who used Las Vegas as a center for food and supplies. There was no permanent settlement there until 1865, when a group of prospectors, including Octavius Decatur Gass, acquired the rights to the Old Mormon Fort. For the rest of that decade, Gass ran a prosperous business at the Fort, rebuilding many of the structures and farming the land, offering food and shelter to the travelers on the "Old Mormon Trail" (the Salt Lake-Los Angeles wagon road), as well as offering provisions to the nearby miners.

Gass was less of a businessman than a prospector at heart and eventually bad business deals forced him to turn the property over to Archibald Stewart and his wife, Helen, who had only intended to stay there temporarily. However, after a feud at nearby Kiel Ranch, which ended in the murder of Stewart, his widow stayed on to run the ranch and see it prosper. This period was from 1882 to 1902, when she sold the ranch to Montana Senator William Clark. Clark was instrumental in overseeing the establishment of the railroad from Utah to California. Acquiring the rights to the Ranch and its abundant water supply ensured that Las Vegas was to become a major stop for railroad travelers. In 1905 an ad was placed in prominent major newspapers concerning "first class inside lots" going for as little as 200 dollars a piece in Clark’s Las Vegas Townsite.

This encouraged squatters and investors alike, and the auction on May 15, 1905 produced a flurry of sales. Soon hotels and homes sprouted up all along the main downtown area of Fremont Street, as well as schools, a hospital and other essential businesses such as ice plants.

Las Vegas essentially thrived for the next 20 years because of the railroad; it played host to travelers by providing entertainment and liquor. The liquor was restricted to a certain area, Blocks 16 and 17. This area naturally evolved into a red light district as well. During Prohibition, this section was especially popular. During this period, the city founders realized that as the roads were improved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, this would promote more tourism and they began to build ranches to appeal to the potential visitors. Kiel Ranch became a popular dude ranch and gained notoriety as a place where people came to wait out their quicky Nevada divorces. In 1931, the combined advent of the building of Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover), the creation of Boulder City plus the legalization of gambling, ensured a new boom in the prosperity of southern Nevada.

World War II increased the Las Vegas economy even more. In 1940, an air base was established (now known as Nellis Air Force Base) in the northeast part of town. A huge plant, Basic Magnesium, was built for the manufacture of bullets and bomb casings, etc. The plant was instrumental in the establishment of Henderson, just southeast of Las Vegas and now one of the fastest-growing communities in Nevada. In the early 1950s a new kind of entertainment was born: watching the atomic bomb testing, which took place at the nuclear test site, just 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas. A famous Life Magazine photo captured one of the mushroom clouds rising above the waving cowboy, "Vegas Vic" of Fremont Street. In fact, the opening of the now closed Desert Inn was timed to coincide with one of the blasts.

In recent decades the hotel industry has re-invented itself again and again. Just when everyone was predicting a severe depression, especially when Atlantic City emerged as a gambling destination in the early 80s, Las Vegas managed to come up with a new twist. Even today, with the proliferation of gambling in many of the 50 states, Las Vegas only seems to become more popular. Theme hotels have become abundant, starting with the Mirage in the late 80s, followed by the Excalibur, Treasure Island, Luxor and the MGM Grand. More and more soon popped up including the Stratosphere, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Paris Las Vegas, Venetian, Mandalay Bay and many more. When will the boom end?

Las Vegas
Dining And Drinking

Once a vast wasteland of buffets, Las Vegas has come of age in dining and drinking. Added to the list of celebrities are some of the top names in the culinary world. Visitors now have their choice of fine dining experiences, both on and off the strip.

Famous for his California-style food and original restaurants, Wolfgang Puck has graced the city with several ventures. One of his establishments, Chinois, provides a relaxed patio dining along with private rooms, popular with famous guests. The influence of new epicurean alternatives has breathed new life into the older gourmet rooms as well. Topping both the Zagat survey and the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Reader’s Poll, Drai’s Restaurant serves dinner and high tea. Located inside the Barbary Coast Hotel, this enchanting restaurant also offers excellent live entertainment three nights a week. If you like a fine dining experience with a spectacular view, ascend to the top of the Stratosphere Tower for an evening at the Top of the World Restaurant. There is not a bad seat in the house since the room slowly rotates one complete turn each hour.

Some restaurants have stood the test of time in Las Vegas and one of those is the Benihana in the Las Vegas Hilton. It has long been the popular choice for Japanese food, both for the exhibition-style cooking and the amazing special effects. Another fine choice for Asian specialties is Mayflower Cuisinier. Chef Ming See Woo has secured several awards for the restaurant including a five-diamond rating from the American Academy of Restaurant Sciences.

Frank Sinatra was a frequent visitor to Battista’s Hole In The Wall, where you will be served as if you are family. The Tillerman is well known with locals for an outstanding array of fresh seafood dishes and fine steaks. Of course, the Steakhouse at Circus Circus has been lauded since its opening as one of the best in the business.

Visiting the Mohave Desert does not preclude enjoying fine seafood. Chef Emeril Lagasse produces award winning lobster, fish and crab delights at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House inside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Awards have also been garnered by the Rosewood Grille, multiple winner of the "Award of Excellence" by Wine Spectator Magazine.

Perhaps you’d be tickled by dining with a cyborg from the Terminator, or Freddy from Friday the 13th. If so, drop in at Planet Hollywood where you will see authentic movie props and maybe a real star or two.

There are also great places to eat outside of the Strip and convention areas. Bob Taylor’s Ranch House, for instance, is located in the northwest portion of the valley. It has been a favorite of locals and celebrities since the '50s. Even Elvis loved this joint.

After dinner, take a leisurely stroll down the strip and enjoy a nightcap or a bit of dancing. If you prefer something exotic, Rumjungle is sure to delight you. If you’re looking for a top VIP room, check out RA located in the Luxor or Rain in the Palms Casino Hotel.