In 2003, Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted 24,463 conventions. That’s about one every 20 minutes. These are hardly numbers to make convention delegates feel that they’re going to get any special treatment when they get to town. But if there’s one thing that Las Vegas does well, it’s pleasing its customers. In fact, only 18 percent of the 35,540,126 visitors to the “Entertainment Capital of the World” last year were going there for the first time.

What makes this desert city so captivating? Well, chances are, you’re part of the 82 percent who already know. If not, you can bet on having a good time and a great educational experience on October 23-27, when the ASA 2004 Annual Meeting takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Meadow
Gambling and drinking have been a mainstay in Las Vegas since its very beginnings. In the early 1800s, intrepid travelers risked their lives to travel through the unrelentingly harsh Mojave Desert that surrounds Las Vegas on their way to Los Angeles. In 1829 a Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera went in search of water for his parched traveling companions and became the first non-Native American to look upon the oasis that was to become Las Vegas, which in Spanish means, “the meadows.” The plentiful artesian water meant that travelers could now cut straight through the desert on their way to and from Los Angeles. Las Vegas had suddenly become a sought-after destination and a great place to stop for a drink.

Finding an Identity
John C. Fremont became a huge player in Las Vegas history in 1844 when his map of the area was published and made available to colonists, adventurers and those seeking gold in the West. Fremont has been immortalized in the city with the famous and very brightly lit Fremont Street that bears his name.

In an effort to protect the mail route that led to Salt Lake City, Utah, Mormon settlers made a home in Las Vegas in 1855 but soon abandoned the area because of Indian raids. The Mormon presence is still felt in Las Vegas today — about 12 percent of the southern Nevada population is Mormon.

Training for Greatness
Things really started to happen for the tiny desert oasis when the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad purchased the area and set up a town in 1904. The town of Las Vegas was officially founded on May 15, 1905, and it began to set precedents for itself that reverberate today. Gambling had been an important part of Nevada history since people began traveling through it, whether it was legal or not. In 1910, Nevada became the last western state to officially outlaw gaming. The law slowed no one down, and illegal gambling flourished until 1931 when gambling officially became legal. Nevada also was the first U.S. state to legalize casino-style gambling.

From Filthy to Filthy Rich A relatively insignificant desert railroad town in the early 1900s, Las Vegas has grown to become the brightest, boldest and most universally well-known entertainment destination on earth.

The Great Depression hit the rest of the United States hard, but Las Vegas retained its oasis status due to labor needed for building the Hoover Dam, legalized gaming and Union Pacific Railroad development.

The real boom, though, happened after businessman Thomas Hull built the El Rancho Vegas Hotel-Casino in 1941 on land that would soon be known and recognized the world over only as “The Strip.”

Strip Mining
Hotel casinos came and went and always outdid each other. The most celebrated early hotel-casino was the Flamingo Hotel, which was opened in 1946 by infamous mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. Modeled after Miami resort hotels, it featured flamingo replicas on the lawn and a giant, pink neon sign that became the standard by which The Strip’s future additions would judge themselves.

After the resort-casino seed was planted, it became obvious to new developers that being bigger and brighter than your neighbor was the only way to get ahead. For this reason, Las Vegas is in a constant state of flux and seeks always to offer the public more. At the beginning of 2004, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn facetiously remarked that the state’s unofficial bird should be the construction crane.

Dam Nation In the 1930s, thousands flocked to southern Nevada to find work on the Boulder Canyon Project, which was later to be renamed Hoover Dam. In an effort to keep the workers from the distractions of gambling, a separate town, Boulder City, was created to house them. Gambling was made illegal in Boulder City, and it remains the only community in Nevada where gambling is not allowed.

What’s New?
If you asked this question every day of Las Vegas, you’d get a different answer each time. From the Luxor hotel-casino with its sphinx and pyramid replicas to the New York, New York, and its towering Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, it’s clear that Las Vegas’ goal is to bring the entire world to southern Nevada. Having hosted almost 36 million visitors in 2003, that goal might someday be realized. Last year saw the addition of 3,800 hotel rooms, bringing the total to almost 140,000 — plenty of space for the world’s travelers.

Getting around to these gargantuan resorts will be easier in 2004 thanks to the Las Vegas Monorail, which will connect the various casinos, hotels and entertainment revues the entire length of The Strip.

Top Spot
Las Vegas wins so many accolades from visitors and critics that listing them all seems to lessen their impact. One award, however, stood out when Travel Weekly, which represents the travel industry’s most influential professionals, bestowed the 2003 Readers’ Choice Award to the city for its quality facilities, overall staff efficiency and proficiency and the quality of amenities.

When ASA Annual Meeting attendees arrive in Las Vegas this October, they can rest assured that they’ll be offered the latest in anesthesiology education in a city that takes its entertainment very seriously.

Plans Under Way for 2004 ASA Annual Meeting in Las Vegas

The ASA 2004 Annual Meeting will be held October 23-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ASA members and their spouses or guests are invited to attend. Registration materials, including hotel reservation forms and social activities information, will be mailed to ASA members in June. All information that is typically mailed to members also will be available at <www2.ASAhq.org>, including online registration.

The Las Vegas Hilton will serve as headquarters for the ASA Annual Meeting. All meetings of the House of Delegates, caucuses and reference committees, Breakfast Panels, the Emery A. Rovenstine Lecture, Lewis H. Wright Memorial Lecture, Celebration of Research plenary session and some workshops will be held at the Hilton.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is the location for the 55th Annual Refresher Course Lectures that will be presented throughout the meeting. Scientific Papers poster sessions and discussions, panels, Clinical Forums and workshops also will be held at the convention center. All scientific, technical and art exhibits will be open from Sunday through Tuesday, October 24-26, at the convention center.

Tickets for social activities will be sold before the preregistration deadline via the registration form and during the meeting in the registration area at the convention center.

A new approach to organizing some of the educational sessions for the 2004 meeting involve a trial of two subspecialty tracks.  A Critical Care Medicine track will be held on Saturday and Sunday, and an Obstetric Anesthesia track will be held on Monday and Tuesday.  Most, if not all, educational sessions related to knowledge in these subspecialties will occur within each track rather than spread throughout the five-day meeting.  Note that there will be some sessions outside of the tracks with content that could be considered within the domain of knowledge of critical care medicine or obstetric anesthesia.  The sessions within each track will occur concurrently with other educational sessions that are not specifically part of a track at the 2004 meeting.