Paragraph: (History-Anthropology/oanc-HistoryLasVegas-5.txt)
Sent 1: New Legitimacy: Organized crime was soon to have a formidable adversary in its bid to control Las Vegas — corporate cash.
Sent 2: Though Las Vegas had developed a powerful local economy, few major outside investments were made in the city, due primarily to mob infiltration and its inherent ties to illegal activities.
Sent 3: That would change dramatically with the 1966 arrival of billionaire Howard Hughes.
Sent 4: A legitimate businessman, Hughes was nonetheless eccentric and dramatic, a style suited to the Las Vegas ethos.
Sent 5: True to the myth, the reclusive Hughes immediately cloistered himself in the Desert Inn's penthouse.
Sent 6: Several weeks later he was asked — then ordered — to vacate the room to make room for high rollers, whereupon he promptly bought the property and fired the management.
Sent 7: Thus began Hughes' legendary three-year, $300-million Las Vegas buying spree.
Sent 8: When it was over, Hughes owned six casinos, an airport, and an airline, along with numerous plots of land stretching from the Strip to the mountains.
Sent 9: Hughes' actions would have beneficial repercussions, both immediate and lasting.
Sent 10: Because of the new legitimacy Las Vegas acquired from Hughes' investments, established companies such as Hilton Hotels bought into the gaming business, and their influence helped draw a line in the desert sand between legitimate operations and mob casinos, where illegal skimming of profits was rampant.
Sent 11: That, combined with the formation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would signal the beginning of the end for heavy mob influence in the city.
Sent 12: Las Vegas with a Vision As corporations moved in and the mob was slowly pushed out, a new Las Vegas emerged.
Sent 13: The legitimization of gambling led to its increased legalization across the US.
Sent 14: What was once a sure thing became much more competitive.
Sent 15: Casino operators had to reassess the nature of their business.
Sent 16: The first to really do so was Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas resident and owner of the Golden Nugget.
Sent 17: In the mid-1980s, Wynn began plans to reinvigorate Las Vegas with a new resort.
Sent 18: He bought several Strip properties — the Silver Slipper and Castaways among them — and demolished them to make way for a new kind of resort — Mirage —  which became an instant success.