The city built on gambling places some risky bets on its future

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, or so goes the adage. If only that could be said about the profits. Like the rest of America, Las Vegas is feeling the recessionary pinch as its gambling revenues dip downward for one of the only times in the gilded city's history. Foreclosures and declining profits have hit hard in America's capital of kitsch, where the shift to family-friendly entertainment is now making the previously recessionproof Sin City susceptible to the traditional highs and lows of the tourism industry. Here, a look back at the rapid rise of America's most hedonistic playground and the troubled times it now finds itself in.