On May 15, 2025—Las Vegas’ 120th birthday—city leaders and stakeholders gathered with local and national media at the Legacy Club atop the Circa Resort & Casino to wish the destination a happy birthday and discuss its evolution and future. Founded on May 15, 1905, as a small railroad stop in the desert, Las Vegas has always been the home of trailblazers and innovators whose frontier attitudes of expansion and limitless possibility created the powerhouse of tourism, hospitality, and entertainment it is today.
At the heart of the festivities was a special panel discussion featuring some of the destination’s influential leaders and visionaries. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), introduced the group to resort executives, community leaders, and local and national media outlets including Extra TV, Canada’s Daily Hive, Las Vegas Review-Journal and more. UNLV professor and gaming historian David Schwartz moderated the panel, which comprised Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, Clark County Commissioner and LVCVA Board Chair Jim Gibson, owner and CEO of Circa Resort & Casino Derek Stevens, President and CEO of Fremont Street Experience Andrew Simon, and Executive Director of The Neon Museum Aaron Berger.
Growing Up With Las Vegas
The discussion offered a rich, firsthand account of how the city has evolved and how its leaders have experienced those changes. Mayor Berkley described Las Vegas’ transformation from a small, neon-lit city in the 1960s—when her family arrived from New York—into a global destination, emphasizing its explosive growth from a population of 80,000 to 2.6 million today, and highlighted its reinvention from a gaming and entertainment hub to a city recognized worldwide for its vibrancy and opportunity. When she arrived in 1964, Berkley said, “The first thing my family did was drive down the Las Vegas Strip…To my 13-year-old eyes—it took my breath away. I’m now 74 years old and I drive down the same street and have the same reaction.”
Gibson traced Las Vegas’s evolution through the lens of gaming regulation and professional sports, crediting Nevada’s pioneering Gaming Control Act and the state’s regulatory rigor for legitimizing gaming and paving the way for major league sports to consider Las Vegas a viable home.
Stevens shared his personal journey from minor league baseball owner to casino developer, highlighting the city’s longstanding sports culture and the eventual breakthrough that brought major league teams to Las Vegas. He emphasized the synergy between Las Vegas’ history, sports, and hospitality, and how these elements now drive new development and community pride.
Public-private partnerships, continual reinvestment, and a relentless commitment to safety and free entertainment are responsible for Fremont Street’s success, Simon noted, pointing out that Las Vegas is unique in the US for increasing tourism after the pandemic, thanks to these collaborative efforts and ongoing innovation.
Berger framed Las Vegas’ evolution as a series of waves: from hospitality and gaming to entertainment, to culinary excellence, and now to sports. The next frontier is arts and culture, he said, citing the rapid growth of institutions like The Neon Museum, Mob Museum, and Smith Center. He sees Las Vegas on the cusp of becoming an international destination for arts and culture, with each new phase strengthening those that came before. Having lived in Las Vegas for only four years, Berger was struck by the city’s openness to new ideas and the way community connections drive progress.
Las Vegas in Five Years
The panelists unanimously spoke of Las Vegas as a city defined by reinvention, resilience, and bold vision. Mayor Berkley’s five-year vision includes continued growth to three million residents and further evolution as a global center for gaming, sports, arts and technology. Becoming a championship sports city characterized Gibson’s view, as well as tackling water and environmental challenges, and expanding economic opportunities especially in tech and AI to retain and attract young talent.
Stevens noted the ongoing population and development boom, especially Downtown, increasing density and business opportunities. He has a bullish outlook for entrepreneurship and investment in Las Vegas. “When you study the history of revitalizations of cities, population density and investment is a big component,” he said. “If I were a younger person coming to Vegas, I would be very excited about the opportunity to open a new business. The business environment in the state of Nevada, and specifically in Las Vegas, is tremendous. I think it’s probably the best you could find.”
“Take a look at what’s going on in the [Fremont St.] canopy,” Simon said. We have a festival supported by the LVCVA. There’s no place in the country right now that’s going to give you millions of dollars in free music just to come out and have a good time and be part of it…You’re going to see more of that, but you’re going to see different reasons to come Downtown. We put [investment] back in and make sure we’re the best in the country.”
To Berger, the city’s possibilities feel limitless. “When I was sitting with the search committee [for the Neon Museum], they said, ‘Listen, something you need to know about Las Vegas is that if you have the good idea, the money will follow.’” Berger said. “So what’s going to happen in five years? Anything you want is really the answer, and that’s exciting. That’s what brought me here: great, endless possibilities.”
Every Good Party Ends in Cake
After the panel discussion, Steve Hill led the room in a Champagne toast and tribute to Las Vegas before cutting a five-foot-tall, custom birthday cake whose six layers told the story of the destination. A nod to Las Vegas’s distinct epochs, the showstopping cake created by longtime Las Vegas pastry shop Freed’s Bakery included several tiers imprinted with historic images, including the Rat Pack, Downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip skyline, and overlaid with Las Vegas icons such as Vegas Vic, poker chips, and the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.
