Las Vegas (Spanish: "The Meadows") is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for the gaming industry, shopping, and entertainment. Las Vegas, billed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of large casino resorts and their associated entertainment. The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the Las Vegas Strip and are seen elsewhere in the city as well; as seen from space, Las Vegas is the brightest city on earth.

Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. With the growth that followed, at the close of the century Las Vegas was the most populous

American city founded in the 20th century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). It was the 28th most populous city in the United States during the 2000 census. The population of the city was estimated at 558,880 and the Las Vegas metropolitan area exceeds 2.0 million residents.

The name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated areas of Clark County that surround the city, especially the resort areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip. This 4.5-mile (7.2-km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the city limits, in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester.

Nevada () is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is "The Silver State" due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the phrase "Battle Born" on the state flag reflects the state's entry on the Union side during the American Civil War. Its first settlement was called Mormon Station.

Nevada is the seventh-largest state in area, and geographically covers the Mojave Desert in the south to the Great Basin in the north. About 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government under various jurisdictions both civilian and military.Nevada Natural Resources Status Report As of 2006, there were about 2.6 million residents, with over 85% of the population residing in the metropolitan areas around Las Vegas and Reno.[http://www.nsbdc.org/what/data_statistics/demographer/pubs/docs/NVPopul06.pdf Popul of Nevada's Counties and Incorp cities 2006 Time Series EMAIL 012207.xls] The state is well known for its easy marriage and divorce proceedings, legalization of gambling and, in a few counties, legalized brothels.

In 2005, the state issued a specialty license plate via the Nevada Commission on Tourism that lists the name of the state as Nev?da to help with the pronunciation problem. The local pronunciation of the state's name is not /n??v?.d?/ (as in the "a" in "father"), but /n??væ.d?/ (as in the "a" in "glad").Although the name is derived from the Spanish word Nevada, which is the feminine form of "covered in snow," it is common for Spanish-derived place names in the United States to be no longer pronounced by native English speakers in a manner which reflects the name's Spanish roots (the pronunciation of the name "Los Angeles," for instance, is commonly accepted as "Los An-JELL-es" not "Los An-HELL-es" by native English speakers). Local residents - particularly natives of the state - resent hearing Nevada's name mispronounced in the national media, a problem that has crystallized with increased coverage of the state following the 2008 Presidential Primary Elections.