<P> Clark subsequently built another railroad branching off from Las Vegas to the boomtown of Bullfrog called the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad . With the revenue coming down both railways that intersected there, the area of Las Vegas was quickly growing . On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas officially was founded as a city, when 110 acres (45 ha), in what would later become downtown, were auctioned to ready buyers . Las Vegas was the driving force in the creation of Clark County, Nevada in 1909 and the city was incorporated in 1911 as a part of the county . The first mayor of Las Vegas was Peter Buol who served from 1911 - 1913 . </P> <P> Shortly after the city's incorporation, the State of Nevada reluctantly became the last western state to outlaw gaming . This occurred at midnight, October 1, 1910, when a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada . It even forbade the western custom of flipping a coin for the price of a drink . Nonetheless, Las Vegas had a diversified economy and a stable and prosperous business community, and therefore continued to grow until 1917 . In that year, a combination of economic influences and the redirection of resources by the federal government in support of the war effort forced the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad to declare bankruptcy . Although William Clark sold the remains of the company to the Union Pacific Railroad, a nationwide strike in 1922 left Las Vegas in a desperate state . </P> <P> On July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam . The dam was later renamed the Hoover Dam during the Truman administration . Work started on the dam in 1931 and Las Vegas' population swelled from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam . However, the demographic of the work force consisting of males from across the country with no attachment to the area created a market for large scale entertainment . A combination of local Las Vegas business owners, and Mafia crime lords helped develop the casinos and showgirl theaters to entertain the largely male dam construction workers . </P> <P> Despite the influx of known crime figures, the local business community tried to cast Las Vegas in a respectable light when the Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur visited in 1929 to inspect the dam site . However a subordinate was found with alcohol on his breath (this was during the time of Prohibition) after a visit to Block 16 in Las Vegas . The government ultimately decided that a federal - controlled town, Boulder City, would be erected for the dam workers . </P>

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