When you hear someone mention Las Vegas, what comes to mind? Sin City? Wholesome entertainment for the entire family? An indulgent luxury vacation? Or perhaps a value-oriented reward for hard-working Americans? If you answered “all of the above,” you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. The truth: All of these have been characteristics associated with Las Vegas over the years. In recent times, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) fielded several national ad campaigns. Tourism is Vegas’s biggest industry, and the LVCVA is charged with maintaining the city’s brand image and keeping visitors coming to one of the world’s most famous cities.
Although the positioning of the Vegas brand has changed from time to time, the town will probably never entirely lose the “Sin City” label. That title was born when Las Vegas was young—an anything-goes gambling town full of smoke-filled casinos, bawdy all-girl revues, all-you-can-eat buffets, Elvis impersonators, and no wait weddings on the Vegas Strip. This was the Vegas epitomized by the Rat Pack, when Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the rest of the crew appeared nightly on stage to standing room- only crowds at the Sands Hotel. Sinatra was even known for referring to anywhere that wasn’t Las Vegas as “dullsville.”