The city of Paradise, Nevada is officially an unincorporated town within the metropolitan area of Las Vegas. The Clark County Commission and Paradise Town Advisory Board work in conjunction to govern Paradise.
The numerous tourists which visit the region might not be aware that they are actually in Paradise and not inside Las Vegas itself. Nearly all of the Las Vegas Strip is situated within the city of Paradise, including several of the famous hotels such as Caesars Palace and the Palms. Paradise is also where the MGM Grand, McCarran International Airport and University of Nevada are situated. Paradise remains somewhat unknown as the US Postal Service has assigned "Las Vegas, NV" as the place name utilized for ZIP codes in the city of Paradise. "Paradise, NV" never appears in postal addresses. If Paradise were an incorporated city, it will be among the biggest within the state of Nevada.
The Clark County commission voted to create the unincorporated township of Paradise during the year 1950, after Ernie Cragin, the mayor then, tried unsuccessfully to expand the city's tax base by pushing for annexation of the Las Vegas Strip. Ernie Cragin required funds to pay down the rising debt of the city and fund a development plan. A group of Strip casino executives successfully lobbied the county for town status in order to prevent Las Vegas from annexing the land. Ever since then the county commission has continued to preserve its authority by limiting the Las Vegas expansion.
Approximately three quarters of the population of Nevada reside in Clark County. The county supports practically 2 million people. The Nevada Legislature formed the county in the year 1909. The Las Vegas Valley, a one thousand square kilometer basin, consists of the unincorporated community of Paradise and the city of Las Vegas. Before Nevada became a state, a lot of the region was part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory. Clark County was named for William Andrews Clark, a US senator, who was primarily responsible for routing the Salt Lake and Los Angeles Railroad through the region. The railroad considerably boosted development within the area.