The arrival of the mafia and its money catapults Las Vegas from a raffish frontier town to a glamorous entertainment destination featuring the biggest stars of the nightclub era.
The legendary Rat Pack show at the Sands Casino in 1960 inaugurates the Golden Age of Las Vegas, an era defined by a heavy-drinking, broad-chasing, irreverent kind of hip embodied by Frank Sinatra.
The rest of the country is in a cultural revolution, Sin City becomes farther removed from national attitudes. By the end of the 60s, Elvis makes a comeback in Vegas that helps cement the city as an international entertainment destination.
The strip explodes with new Disney-fied hotels, casinos, and megastars, highlighting the evolution and continual reinvention of the strip in the face of difficulty.
