1829 -- Discovered by Spanish explorers.
1855 -- First settlement by Mormons in Las Vegas.
1905 -- Town of Las Vegas established by auctioning of land.
1905 -- The First United Methodist Church of Las Vegas formed at 3rd & Bridger.
1911 -- The city of Las Vegas is incorporated.
1926 -- First commercial airline flight, Western Airlines.
1931/03/19 -- Gambling legalized in Nevada.
1936/03/01 -- Hoover Dam completed in Black Canyon.
1940 -- Clark County population 16,414 (Las Vegas-8,422).
1941 -- El Rancho Vegas opens on the Strip, destroyed by fire 19 years later.
1941 -- El Cortez Hotel opens downtown.
1942 -- Last Frontier Hotel opens. (Later called New Frontier and Frontier.)
1944 -- The first Helldorado parade and rodeo is conducted.
1946 -- Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel. State levies first gaming taxes.
1947 -- The U.S. Air Force opens Nellis
1950 -- Clark County population 48,289. (Las Vegas-24,624).
1955 -- Gaming Control Board created within the Nevada Tax Commission by the Legislature.
1955 -- Riviera opens
1957 -- Tropicana opens
1959 -- Las Vegas Convention Center opens. The Nevada Gaming Commission is created by the Legislature.
1960 -- Clark County population 127,016. (Las Vegas-64,405).
1966 -- Howard Hughes arrives to live at Desert Inn.
1966 -- Caesars Palace opens
1967 -- Nevada legislature allows corporations to obtain gambling licenses.
1970 -- Clark County population 273,288 (Las Vegas-125,787).
1975 -- Nevada gaming revenues first crack $1 billion mark.
1980 -- Clark County population hits 463,087 (Las Vegas- 164,674) as Las Vegas celebrates 75th birthday.
1981 -- Las Vegas celebrates Golden Anniversary of Gaming.
1985 -- First National Finals Rodeo held in Las Vegas.
1989 -- Mirage opens Nov. 22, with 3,039 rooms.
1990 -- Clark County population 741,459 (Las Vegas-258,295)
1990 -- Excalibur opens June 19, to date the world's largest resort hotel with 4,032 rooms.
1991 -- Ground broken on MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park; Treasure Island Hotel, and pyramid-shaped Luxor.
1991 -- The Las Vegas Online Entertainment Guide goes online as a dial-up BBS system.
1992 -- First Las Vegas Bowl held at Silver Bowl.
1993 -- MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park tops off. Flamingo Hilton announces plans to raze Bugsy suite and office.
1993/10/27 -- Dunes sign is imploded
1993 -- Money won by Nevada casinos tops the $6 billion mark for the first time.
1993/08/23 -- Grand Slam Canyon Adventuredome
1993/10/15 -- Luxor Hotel opens
1993/10/26 -- Treasure Island Hotel opens
1993/12/18 -- MGM Grand Hotel and Theme Park opens
1994 -- Buffalo Bill's in Stateline and Boulder Station Casino on Boulder Highway in Las Vegas open.
1994/09/07 -- Downtown Fremont Street closed to traffic
1994 -- Steve Wynn reveals plans to construct Bellagio
1994 -- Sam's Town on Boulder Highway expands with lush, plant-filled atrium.
1994 -- Boomtown opens
1994 -- The first non-stop flight from Europe begins with weekly flights from Cologne, Germany.
1994 -- Four skywalks are built over the intersection of Tropicana Boulevard and the Las Vegas Strip.
1994 -- County opens Interstate 15-McCarran airport connector tunnel
1994/10/27 -- The Dunes hotel-casino is imploded
1994 -- The Fiesta opens in North Las Vegas 
1995/02/01 -- Vegas World closes its doors to make way for the Stratosphere Tower.
1995 -- Clark County population estimated at 1,000,000+
1995/03/10 -- The first Hard Rock Hotel opens March 10.
1995 -- New visitors center opens at Hoover Dam.
1995 -- Circus Circus Inc. buys Gold Strike Resorts.
1995/06/14 -- Monorail begins operation between MGM Grand and Bally's
1995 -- William Bennett, former president and CEO of Circus Circus, buys Sahara Hotel-Casino
1995 -- Bally Entertainment Corp. announces Paris Casino Resort
1995 -- Texas Gambling Hall & Hotel opens next door to the Fiesta on Rancho Road in North Las Vegas.
1995 -- $25 million monorail begins running between MGM Grand and Bally's hotel-casinos on June 14.
1995 -- The Las Vegas Online Entertainment Guide moves from dial-up to the Internet.
1995 -- ITT Corp. buys Caesars World Inc. for $1.7 billion, including Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
1995 -- Construction begins on Steve Wynn's Bellagio
1995 -- Circus Circus Enterprises buys Hacienda and surrounding 100 acres.
1995/12/13 -- Fremont Street Experience opens
1995 -- Las Vegas reported a 29 million visitor volume for the year.
1995 -- State gross gaming revenue surpasses $7.3 billion. 
1995 -- Clark County produced $5.7 billion of the state's gaming revenue total.
1995/11/07 -- Landmark Hotel imploded
1996/01/24 -- Ground breaking ceremonies for Las Vegas Hilton's Star Trek: The Experience
1996 -- Wayne Newton celebrates 25,000th Las Vegas performance.
1996 -- Siegfried and Roy celebrate 15,000th Las Vegas performance.
1996 -- Desert Inn Road arterial is completed, creating the first tunnel under the Las Vegas Strip.
1996/04/30 -- Stratosphere Tower opens as the tallest free-standing observation tower in the US
1996 -- Hilton Hotels Corp. purchases Bally's Entertainment Corp for $3 billion
1996/06/18 -- Caesars Magical Empire, a multimillion dollar dining and entertainment complex opens
1996/06/21 -- Monte Carlo, a joint venture between Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. and Mirage Resorts Inc
1996/09/01 -- The $72 million, 1,100-acre Las Vegas Speedway opens
1996 -- Clark County Commission grants permits for Paris Casino Resort
1996 -- Hyatt Hotel Corp. announces plans to build a 500-room hotel on the shores of Lake Las Vegas
1996/06/30 -- The Sands Hotel, after 44 years of continuous operation,
1996/11/25 -- Sands tower imploded Nov. 26 to make way for the Venetian
1996 -- State Line, NV is renamed to Primm, NV
1996 -- Ground breaking held for 3,000-room Planet Hollywood Hotel Casino. It never happened.
1996/12/31 -- Circus Circus implodes Hacienda Hotel Casino Dec. 31 to make way for megaresort.
1996 -- 29.6 million people visit Las Vegas in 1996; state gross gaming revenue totals $7.45 billion
1996 -- Clark County population hits 1.1 million.
1997/01/03 -- New York-New York Hotel Casino opens.
1997/01/27 -- Stratosphere files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It continues to operate.
1997/01/28 -- Hilton Hotels Corp. makes a $10.5 billion hostile take-over bid on ITT Corp.
1997 -- ITT shareholders accept Starwood Lodging offer.
1997/02/07 -- The 6,945-yard, par 71 Lakes Course opens Feb. 7, the first golf course located in Primm, NV.
1997/04 -- Ground breaking to build the $1.8 billion Venetian theme resort on the grounds
1997 -- Steve Wynn, builder of Las Vegas Strip megaresorts, calls for a slow approach to future expansion in Las Vegas.
1997 -- Megabucks is hit for $12 million at New York-New York Hotel/Casino (worlds largest slot payout)
1997 -- Coca Cola Co. opens howcase Mall marked by a 100-foot-tall glass Coca Cola bottle.
1997/05/07 -- The first non-stop scheduled commercial flight from Frankfurt International arrives at McCarren
1997 -- Sunset Station Hotel-Casino opens June 10.
1997 -- Players Island Resort purchased by Virgin River Casino and renamed CasaBlanca on July 1.
1997/08/29 -- The Forum Shops at Caesars opens
1997/11/25 -- The Aladdin Hotel closed to make way for joint venture with Planet Hollywood
1997 -- The Desert Inn Hotel Casino completes $200 million renovation and expansion.
1997 -- Owners change the name of the Boomtown Hotel Casino to Silverton
1997 -- Harley Davidson Cafe opens on the Las Vegas Strip, continuing the theme restaurant proliferation.
1997 -- Caesars Palace opens new tower in December.
1997 -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc. buys Showboat Inc. in a $1.154 billion deal.
1997 -- The Frontier Hotel, owned by the Elardi family, is sold to Phil Ruffin, a Kansas industrialist, for $165 million.
1997 -- Rio Casino opens
1997 -- Alan Paulson buys the Gold River Casino/Hotel in Laughlin.
1998/01/04 -- Star Trek: The Experience opens at the Las Vegas Hilton.
1998/02/10 -- Ameristar Casinos, Inc. opens The Reserve Hotel Casino on Feb. 10
1998 -- Circus Circus officials announces Mandalay Bay
1998 -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts buys ITT Corp. for $14.6 billion which included Caesars Palace and Desert Inn 1998 -- Eagle Canyon Airlines buys Las Vegas-based Scenic Airlines.
1998 -- The Aladdin Hotel is imploded on April 27.
1998 -- Northwest Airlines offers non-stop service June 1 from Tokyo
1998/08 -- Korean Airlines offers three non-stop charter flights from Seoul, Korea
1998/10/02 -- Japan Airlines inaugurates non-stop service October 2 from Tokyo
1998 -- Country Star restaurant on the Strip is acquired by Mirage Resorts Inc. and closes.
1998/10/15 -- Bellagio opens. Bars people under 18 that aren't registered.
1998 -- Las Vegas Convention Center expands to 1.9 million square foot expansion
1998 -- The Debbie Reynolds hotel-casino is sold at public auction August 5 to the World Wresting Federation
1998/12 -- Speedway Motorsports buys Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1998/11 -- California voters allow casino gambling on American Indian reservations.
199811/15 -- A 66-year-old Las Vegas resident hits a Megabucks for$27.58 million at Palace Station.
1998 -- Annual gross gaming revenue in Nevada hits the $8.1 billion mark.
1998 -- Annual number of visitors to Las Vegas totals 30.6 million people.
1998 -- Hilton Hotels Corp. spins off its gaming division to Park Place Entertainment Corp
1999/01/01 -- Harrah's Entertainment buys the Rio
1999/03/01 -- MGM buys Primadonna Resorts Inc to own Primm and New York-New York
1999/03/02 -- Mandalay Bay Resort opens March 2 with 3,300 rooms.
1999/03/02 -- Four Seasons Hotel opens
1999/05/03 -- Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino opens 3,036 suites.
1999 -- The Las Vegas Convention Center celebrates its 40th birthday.
1999 -- Circus Circus Enterprises changes its name to Mandalay Resort Group.
1999/07/15 -- The Resort at Summerlin opens
1999/01/01 -- Paris Las Vegas Casino Resort opens
2000 -- Caesars World sells for $3 billion to Park Place Entertainment.
2000 -- The Resort at Summerlin changes its name to The Regent Las Vegas.
2000 -- MGM Grand Inc. announces the purchase of Mirage Resorts Inc
2000/08/28 -- Desert Inn closed by purchaser Steve Wynn and is later imploded.
2000 -- El Rancho (formally the Thunderbird, then the Silverbird) is imploded on October 3rd.
2000/08/18 -- The new Aladdin Resort & Casino opens
2001 -- Clark County's population reaches 1,498,274, while Las Vegas gets to 506,111.
2001 -- Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa openned by Station Casinos
2001 -- The 3 millionth marriage certificate is recorded in Clark County on February 9.
2003 -- Clark County's population reaches 1,641,529; Las Vegas' grows to 535,395.
2003/04 -- Caesars Palace opens the Colosseum
2003 -- The Stratosphere releases plans for X Scream.
2003 -- Las Vegas Premium Outlets opens in downtown Las Vegas.
2003 -- The Fashion Show mall completes a $1 billion expansion
2003 -- Mandalay Bay opens new 1,120-suite tower, The Hotel.
2004 -- Harrah's Entertainment purchases Binion's Horseshoe.
2004 -- Mergers abound in Las Vegas. MGM MIRAGE announces plans to purchase the Mandalay Resort Group. One month later, Harrah's Entertainment announces its plans to purchase Caesars Entertainment.
2004 -- The Strip dims its lights for President Ronald Reagan's passing.
2004 -- The Las Vegas Monorail, a $654 million mass transit system, opens to the public.
2004 -- Las Vegas Sands releases new details about its planned $1.6 billion Palazzo casino resort on the Strip.
2005 -- Las Vegas celebrates is Centennial year throughout 2005
2005/04/28 -- Steve Wynn opens Wynn Las Vegas
2005/12/22 -- South Coast Hotel & Casino, south of the Las Vegas Strip opens
2006/11/07 -- Smoking is banned in Nevada