Final answer:
Between 1973 and 1992, Las Vegas transformed into the central hub for major boxing events, with hotel-casinos on the Strip ensuring profits from gambling and hotel stays rather than ticket sales. The city also faced challenges from rapid population growth and urban expansion, leading to strained resources and involvement in the real estate bubble, which burst in the late 2000s.
Step-by-step explanation:
From 1973 to 1992, Las Vegas, Nevada underwent significant changes, particularly in its role in the boxing industry and its economy. In the 1970s, large prize fights were often held in foreign countries, where tourist dollars and ticket sales were crucial for hosting and paying hefty purses.
However, by the 1980s, Las Vegas had become the new 'Mecca' of prize fighting. The introduction of hotel-casinos on the iconic Las Vegas Strip revolutionized the industry as gambling and hotel bookings generated enough profit to render ticket sales almost irrelevant for major boxing events. The increase in pay-per-view television also escalated television revenues, which supported the boxing industry's shift to Las Vegas.
Furthermore, Las Vegas encountered urban sprawl and rapid population growth that strained physical resources like water. The city, largely reliant on Lake Mead for water, faced political challenges due to water scarcity. Additionally, the region experienced an intense real estate bubble in the early 2000s, with Las Vegas's urban areas seeing numerous new residential developments. However, this bubble burst in the late 2000s, with Nevada among the states with the highest foreclosure rates thereafter.
The rapid growth in the western United States, including regions like Las Vegas, was part of a wider migration as Americans sought employment in the Sunbelt, which saw most of the country's population growth between 1970 and 1990. During this time, Las Vegas's economy also adapted to maintain liberal morality laws which were supported by a defense of states' rights, according to the information presented in Figure 7-6.