Don Laughlin, Laughlin Nevada
Posted by: 
NevaP
N 35° 10.303 W 114° 34.299
11S E 721149 N 3894786
This statue, in the town that bears his name, commerates the man largely responsible for the existence of the place.
Waymark Code: WM36KQ
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 02/18/2008
Views: 77
If a city like Laughlin didn't exist someone would have to invent it and Don Laughlin did. In 1964 Laughlin, a Las Vegas Casino owner, purchased a run down eight room motel in an unincorporated area called South Point on the Colorado River across from Bullhead City Arizona. The motel had gone bankrupt after construction of Davis Dam was finished and mining activities in the area closed.
Laughlin renamed his property the Riverside Resort and Casino and soon began expanding it. Other casinos followed. The area acquired a post office and was renamed Laughlin.
River taxis brought business from Bullhead city until in 1987 Don Laughlin, with 3.5 Million of his own money built a bridge across the river, which he donated to the states of Nevada and Arizona. Laughlin now has nine large casino hotels which employ 14,000 people and attract millions of visitors annually, some of them arriving at the international airport in Bullhead City (also largely funded by Don Laughlin)
It's not surprising that there's a nice, larger than life size, statue of the man, near his bridge, at the intersection of Casino Drive and highway 162. There's also a geocache here.
More about the history of Laughlin can be found at this Link