Although the history of Las Vegas contains milestones like having the first racially integrated casino in the nation or playing host and home to the infamous mafiosi, the town has had quite a few other notable moments throughout its 100-year-plus history. These notable occurrences helped make Las Vegas what it is today. Let’s take a look back at nine of Las Vegas’ most defining moments.

1. The establishment of marriage and divorce laws (1931)

In 1931, the Nevada Legislature relaxed divorce laws so that couples would only have to wait about six weeks to file, the shortest time period in the country at the time. To help accelerate the marriage process, Nevada stepped in again, offering quickie marriages—no blood tests, physical examinations or waiting periods—eventually defining Las Vegas as “the marriage capital of the world.”

The Boulder Club

The Boulder Club

2. The introduction of neon (1945)

In 1945, the Young Electric Sign Company erected Las Vegas’ first spectacular neon sign on Fremont Street: the marquee of the Boulder Club. The sign was the tipping-off point for the city’s long-standing love affair with neon. The Utah-based company also gave us the iconic Vegas Vic, the Fremont Street Experience canopy, the Hard Rock Café guitar and many other resort marquees up and down Las Vegas Boulevard.

3. Showgirls make their debut (1957)

The Dunes was regarded as one of the Strip’s top hotels, but only two years after its 1955 opening it was underperforming—until a show came along that would define Las Vegas entertainment. Minsky’s Follies, opened in 1957, was the city’s first taste of topless showgirls. The sensation it caused made the hotel viable again, and the showgirl synonymous with Sin City.

Betty Willis

Betty Willis

4. Welcome to Las Vegas sign erected (1959)

Whether you wave hello or goodbye to it, it stands as the gatekeeper to Las Vegas. Commercial artist and native Las Vegan Betty Willis designed the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in 1959, receiving $4,000 from Clark County for her work. The 25-foot-tall landmark is the city’s most recognizable sign and one of the most enduring pieces of Las Vegas history.

5. The Rat Pack rules Las Vegas (1960)

Las Vegas might still be the western frontier town it once was if not for a group of entertainers who came into town to film the movie Ocean’s Eleven in 1960. The movie starred the Rat Pack, and when Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop weren’t on set, they were entertaining on Vegas stages. The tuxedoed stars are responsible for ushering in and defining Vegas cool.

6. Elvis, the king of Vegas, begins his reign (1969)

Although it wasn’t his first time playing in Las Vegas, Elvis Presley’s 1969 residency at the International Hotel forever made him the city’s superstar and spawned generations of impersonators. When you think of Las Vegas, chances are you think of Elvis—and his tight, white, bell-bottomed, chest-baring jumpsuit. The King played the property over a span of seven years and a total of 837 consecutive sold-out shows.

7. Steve Wynn builds The Mirage (1989)

Thanks to a man named Steve Wynn and his investment of $620 million, then a record amount for building a Strip property, The Mirage opened its doors in November 1989, igniting a construction boom that revolutionized Las Vegas’ tourist offerings. The Mirage was the first luxury megaresort to offer fine dining, chic suites, top shopping and entertainment. Less than a decade later, the man outdid himself, and Vegas luxury, once again by opening the $1.6 billion Bellagio.

Rehab

Rehab

8. The dayclub is born (2003)

Las Vegas was always at the top of the list when it came to nightlife, but in 2003 the Hard Rock Hotel shifted people’s focus to partying in the daytime hours with the opening of the city’s first dayclub, Rehab. More than a decade later, daylife has helped open a niche market of partying and entices tourists from around the world to party when the sun is up. As each year passes the daylife bar gets set higher and higher, calling for bigger and more raucous poolside soirées.

9. The rise of the megaclub (2004)

Although it closed its doors in May, Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace was the Strip’s first nightclub to offer multiple floors, rooms and bars, a large outdoor terrace and some of the world’s biggest celebs hosting and frequenting the spot every weekend for nearly a decade. After the club opened in December 2004, other resorts around town took notice, and over the years Las Vegas welcomed the “megaclub,” one of the city’s defining trends that hasn’t slowed.