Las Vegas's
Las Vegas'siStock

A look at Las Vegas's vibrant Jewish community

America’s playground in the desert is a place that’s famed for its inclusivity. Race, religion, color, sexuality – all are one in Las Vegas, and everyone is equally welcome. It’s a fabulous attitude and something from which plenty of other cities could learn. But you can’t help but think it’s less a case of different cultures being catered to than of every culture being drowned out by Vegas itself.

It’s a theory, but it’s not one that entirely holds water. At the time of writing, there are 20 synagogues in Sin City, seven of which are Orthodox. There’s also a huge choice of kosher restaurants on and around the strip and several Jewish schools. It’s not just a case of different cultures and communities being tolerated, Las Vegas has a Jewish community that is more than 100,000 strong – that represents about four percent of the overall population.

A brief history

Today, we associate Vegas with the neon, the Elvis impersonators and of course the acres of casino floors. Online gaming has brought the slots and the table games to the masses – check this out as an example – and people are all the more eager to try out their newfound skills on The Strip.

In the post-war years, though, things were very different. Vegas was not the family-friendly resort city it is today, and its casinos were unregulated and a magnet for organized crime. Jewish mobsters of the era were quick to move in, and these evolved into the “founding fathers” of modern-day Las Vegas. Meyer Lansky is a prime example – he bankrolled Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel and is generally assumed to be behind his famous assassination.

As Las Vegas moved out of the “wild west” era and into the realms of regulated fun and tourism, Steve Wynn (born Stephen Weinberg in 1942) has shaped modern-day Las Vegas. He is the man behind some of its most famous hotels including the Bellagio, the Mirage and, of course, Wynns.

Jewish culture in modern Vegas

So much for the history lesson. But what’s life like today for a Jewish family in Las Vegas? Angela Goldman moved there with her husband and two children, who were then in their early teens, back in 2003. Having come from a close Jewish community in Manchester, a move to Sin City could not have been more different. Yet they have never looked back.

The family lives in Summerlin, a relatively affluent community to the northwest of the Strip. However, this is no Golders Green. Angela told Jewish News that the Jewish community is “scattered all over the valley” and that there are plenty of Jewish schools. She added that for younger children, there are numerous kindergartens and that these are affiliated with the local synagogues.

As for that legendary Las Vegas inclusivity – Angela says the city talks the talk and walks the walk and in 15 years, she has never experienced any kind of anti-Semitism. She says it might not have the same close community feel as Manchester, but it’s a great place to live.