Best known today for its gaming and entertainment, Las Vegas was, ironically, founded in part by a fervently religious community. It Happened in Las Vegas tells the stories of intriguing people and events from the history of the Sin City—from the Mormons’ arrival in 1855 in over 100-degree temperatures to a British battleship blowing up the Dunes Hotel and Casino in 2003.

Learn how Sam Gay, bouncer at the infamous Block 16, once marched sixteen men out of town. Read how Jackie Gleason and Jimmy Durante entertained crowds at one of Las Vegas’s first casinos, the El Rancho. Reflect upon the testing of America’s first nuclear weapon at the Nevada Test Site.