Throughout the history of Las Vegas, Las Vegas has grown in tourism and residences to become better known. From gambling clubs to casinos and resorts, Las Vegas has grown from small town to big, bright city to “Sin City.” If all the laws and mafias that collaborated with casinos and gambling clubs didn't exist back then, our Las Vegas community would not be as popular as we are today. Gambling dates back to the 1860s in Nevada (“History of Gambling in Nevada”). The story begins around 1864 through 1931, starting with the prospectors (ibid). The prospectors were the people who brought gambling in Nevada and made it known. However, Abraham Lincoln chose Nevada Territory governor James Nye, who was against gambling, encouraging the legislature to ban all forms of gambling (ibid). 1864, the first legislature attempted to legalize and regulate gambling, but failed (ibid). Since then, gambling has been drastically reduced with operators punished and few or no players (ibid). 1909, the Progressive Movement passed legislation banning gambling in Nevada (ibid). Subsequently, a bill was introduced to legalize gambling again, but it soon failed once again (“Bill That Transformed”). A City”). The 1927 Legislature considered another similar bill, passed the Assembly, but lost by one vote in the Senate (ibid). Around the 1930s the bill passed the Assembly and Senate. Fred Balzar, an American politician, signed the bill and gambling was finally legal in what was then the least populous state in the nation. Soon after gambling was legalized, casinos began to spring up in Las Vegas. The mafia was a hierarchically structured secret organization, allegedly dedicated to smuggling... of paper... and the web. April 9, 2014. "Mafia". definitely 1. Dizionario.com. Dictionary.com and Web. 09 April 2014. .Mazzeno, Laurence W. "Mafia". The nineties in America. Ed. Bermann Milton. 3 vols. Salem Press, 2009. Salem HistoryWeb. April 09, 2014.Mazzeno, Laurence W. "Organized Crime." The 1940s in America. Ed. Tandy Lewis Thomas. Salem Press, 2010. Salem History Web. 09 April 2014."The mafia." The mafia in Las Vegas -. Np, nd Web. 09 April 2014. "Tourism." City of Las Vegas. Np, nd Web. April 9, 2014. Wright, Frank, and John L. Smith. "Small clubs". Nevada Yesterdays: Brief insights into the history of Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada: Stephens, 2005. 109-16. Press.