Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 11 days 14 hours 37 minutes
In 1931, the massive Hoover Dam project brings thousands of workers to Nevada. They have paychecks and nowhere to spend them. The state legalizes gambling, setting a small, dusty town called Las Vegas on its way to becoming an unsurpassed phenomenon. The mob realizes there are untold riches to be made in gaming, and by the late 1940s, gangsters Meyer Lansky and Benjamin Siegel are opening casinos on the fledgling Strip. For the mob, the situation is a dream come true...
Backing from a legitimate Mormon banker creates major funding for the Vegas mob infrastructure. The underworld is coming out on top in Sin City. But there’s a challenger out for blood: the United States government. A U.S. senator launches an attack on mob-run gaming, and brings his third degree hearings to town. It’s not the only problem in Vegas. Segregation rears its ugly head, but entertainer Harry Belafonte fights back...
The mob faces its biggest threat yet when Nevada governor Grant Sawyer wants control of the state’s top-grossing industry—gambling. The attack includes a strictly-enforced gangster blacklist to keep hoods out of their own casinos. Things get worse when Attorney General Robert Kennedy mounts his own war against the Syndicate, aided by the FBI. But as the mob and the law battle it out, tourism gets a massive boost when Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack comes to town...
Vegas is getting a bad rap in the press, thanks to the increasing spotlight on the mob’s control. The legitimate powers in the halls of Nevada government need something—or someone--to spread a veneer of respectability over Sin City. That someone arrives. He’s one of the most wealthy, powerful men on the planet. And he’s also a loose cannon. As far as new governor Paul Laxalt is concerned, that’s not a deal breaker...
The mob’s longtime stranglehold on Las Vegas is weakening as the feds press down harder than ever. Just a few years ago, no one built anything on the Strip without gangster involvement. Now, as the late ‘80s unfold into the ‘90s, rising Vegas mega-developer Steve Wynn begins his rise to battle Kirk Kerkorian as the new kings of the Strip, and they don’t need mob money or influence to do it. Wynn opens what will become the most financially successful casino resort in the world...
Sin City shapeshifts from its long-held ranking as the supreme adult playground on the planet to a bizarre family-friendly amusement park. Steve Wynn sets a redesign trend that emphasizes Vegas visitors who come for things other than gambling. It’s a world of boutiques, restaurants and Disney-esque rides for the kiddies. But it’s a gamble that won’t pay off. As the new century kicks in, ever-changing Las Vegas goes through yet another attitude adjustment as Wynn and Kerkorian battle to the end...
From a turn-of-the-century railroad stopover to a glamorous entertainment oasis, the evolution of Las Vegas has been one for the books. Casino moguls replaced crime bosses as the kings of the castle, giving "Sin City" the more family-friendly vibe we see today. Although the mob is out, more challenges have moved in — a global pandemic, a statewide drought and competition from other markets are giving the Las Vegas gaming industry a run for its money, raising some questions about its future...