Las Vegas's reputation as "sin city" has attracted millions of tourists in the seven decades since gaming was legalized in Nevada, and continues to reign as the entertainment showplace of the nation. Pairing historical photographs of the town with specially commissioned views of the same scenes today, Las Vegas Then and Now provides the reader with an intriguing look into the history of the town that has become a cultural icon. Built as part of the Last Frontier Village in 1942, the Silver Slipper opened as a separated casino in 1950. In June 1988, the casino was sold and its doors were closed later that year. After the building was demolished, the site was converted into additional parking for the Frontier Hotel.With 2,100 rooms and an interior decor patterned on the film Grand Hotel, the MGM Grand brought large-scale class and elegance to the strip. The hotel was totally rebuilt after a fire killed 85 people, and in 1986 it was sold to the Bally Entertainment Corporation.The Arabian-themed Aladdin resort became famous as the site of Elvis Presley's wedding in May 1967. Its alleged ties to Midwest mobsters led Nevada gaming officials to briefly close the casino in August 1979. On April 27, 1998, the Aladdin was removed to make way for a luxurious new Aladdin Hotel and Casino with expanded retail and entertainment facilities. Peppered with saloons and brothels, the area known as "Block 16" gained an unsavory reputation as the town's red-light district. On December 1, 1941, the commanding officer of the nearby Army Air Corps Gunnery School threatened to declare Las Vegas off-limits if the city didn't do something about it. Today, the Binion's Horseshoe parking lot and garage rests on this infamous site.