<P> While the Strip was booming, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on January 27, 1951 detonated the first of over a hundred atmospheric explosions at the Nevada Test Site . These atmospheric tests would continue until enactment of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 when the tests moved underground . The last test explosion was in 1992 . Despite the dangers and risks, greatly underestimated at the time, of radiation exposure from the fallout, Las Vegas advertised the explosions as another tourist attraction and offered Atomic Cocktails in Sky Rooms that offered a great view of the mushroom clouds . </P> <P> The influx of government employees for the Atomic Energy Commission and from the Mormon - controlled Bank of Las Vegas spearheaded by E. Parry Thomas during those years funded the growing boom in casinos . But Las Vegas was doing more than growing casinos . In 1948, McCarran Field was established for commercial air traffic . In 1957 the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was first established, initially as a branch of the University of Nevada, Reno and becoming independent in 1969 . In 1959 the Clark County Commission built the Las Vegas Convention Center, which would become a vital part of the area's economy . A new utility company, Southwest Gas expanded into Las Vegas in 1954 . </P> <P> In 1966, Howard Hughes, the eccentric hero of the American aviation industry, and noted American entrepreneurial financier with vast connections to long established networks in the country, moved to Las Vegas . Initially staying in the Desert Inn, he refused to vacate his room and instead decided to purchase the entire hotel . Hughes extended his financial empire to include Las Vegas real estate, hotels and media outlets, spending an estimated $300 million and using his considerable powers to take over many of the well known hotels, especially the organized crime connected venues and he quickly became one of the most powerful men in Las Vegas . He was instrumental in changing the image of Las Vegas from its Wild West roots into a more refined cosmopolitan city . </P> <P> The local newspaper Las Vegas Sun and its editor Hank Greenspun led a crusade in those days to expose all the criminal ties, activities, and government corruption in Las Vegas . His investigative reporting and editorials led to the exposure of Clark County Sheriff Glen Jones' ownership of a brothel and the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Clifford A. Jones as the state's national committeeman for the Democratic Party . Before his death in 1989, Hank Greenspun founded The Greenspun Corporation to manage his family's assets, and it remains a major influence in Las Vegas, with media holdings in print, television and the Internet; substantial real estate holdings; and ownership stakes in a number of casinos . </P>

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