<P> The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair - o - Dice Club in 1931 , but the first on what is currently the Strip was the El Rancho Vegas , opening on April 3 , 1941 , with 63 rooms . That casino stood for almost 20 years before being destroyed by a fire in 1960 . Its success spawned a second hotel on what would become the Strip , the Hotel Last Frontier , in 1942 . Organized crime figures such as New York 's Bugsy Siegel took interest in the growing gaming center leading to other resorts such as the Flamingo , which opened in 1946 , and the Desert Inn , which opened in 1950 . The funding for many projects was provided through the American National Insurance Company , which was based in the then notorious gambling empire of Galveston , Texas . </P>
<P> The first casino to be built on Highway 91 was the Pair - o - Dice Club in 1931 , but the first on what is currently the Strip was the El Rancho Vegas , opening on April 3 , 1941 , with 63 rooms . That casino stood for almost 20 years before being destroyed by a fire in 1960 . Its success spawned a second hotel on what would become the Strip , the Hotel Last Frontier , in 1942 . Organized crime figures such as New York 's Bugsy Siegel took interest in the growing gaming center leading to other resorts such as the Flamingo , which opened in 1946 , and the Desert Inn , which opened in 1950 . The funding for many projects was provided through the American National Insurance Company , which was based in the then notorious gambling empire of Galveston , Texas . </P>
when was the first casino opened in las vegas
when was the first casino opened in las vegas
1931
1931