The Las Vegas Limited was a short-lived weekend-only passenger train operated by Amtrak between Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the last in series of excursion trains run by Amtrak between 1972–1976 serving the Los Angeles–Las Vegas market. Low patronage led to the train's withdrawal after three months. Amtrak returned to the Las Vegas market in 1979 with the Desert Wind, a daily train between Los Angeles and Ogden, Utah. History Background The railroad arrived in Las Vegas in 1905 with the opening of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Senator William A. Clark of Montana controlled the railroad from its founding in 1901 to 1921, when he sold his interest to the Union Pacific Railroad. This placed Las Vegas on the Union Pacific's main Los Angeles–Chicago route, and some of the UP's most famous trains served it, including the Challenger, Los Angeles Limited, and above all the City of Los Angeles. By 1970 this service was reduced to a combined City of Los Angeles/Challenger, which itself was combined with the City of Denver, City of Kansas City, City of Portland, and City of San Francisco on the Overland Route. This combined train earned the derisive sobriquet "City of Everywhere"; Amtrak's incorporators retained only the City of San Francisco for Amtrak's initial route structure. Intercity passenger service to Las Vegas ended on May 1, 1971, as Amtrak took over most private sector service. Fun trains Amtrak first restored service to Las Vegas on February 4, 1972, with the Las Vegas Fun Train, also known as the Crapshooters Express. This was more an excursion train than regular intercity service, running on the weekends only and then only for the winter season. Amtrak modeled the train on the Reno Fun Train, which made weekend trips from the San Francisco Bay Area to Reno, Nevada during the winter season. Begun under the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1963, it had continued under Amtrak and was doing good business. The trips were sponsored by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, which agreed to cover any losses sustained by Amtrak. Las Vegas mayor Oran K. Gragson was aboard for the first seven-hour trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The inaugural train featured live music and poker games, in addition to a generous supply of alcohol. In Las Vegas the train stopped in