Paradise, Nevada

Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous unincorporated community in Nevada. As an unincorporated town, it is governed by the Clark County Commission with input from the Paradise Town Advisory Board. Paradise was formed on December 8, 1950.Paradise contains McCarran International Airport; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and most of the Las Vegas Strip. Paradise contains most tourist attractions in the Las Vegas area, excluding downtown. Despite this, the name Paradise remains relatively unknown. All Paradise ZIP codes have Las Vegas mailing addresses.HistoryThe southern part of the Las Vegas Valley was referred to as Paradise Valley as early as 1910, owing to a high water table that made the land particularly fertile for farming. County commissioners established a Paradise school district in 1914.In 1950, mayor Ernie Cragin of Las Vegas, looking to fund an ambitious building agenda and pay down the city's rising debt, sought to expand the city's tax base by annexing the Las Vegas Strip which was unincorporated territory. A group of casino executives, led by Gus Greenbaum of the Flamingo, lobbied the county commissioners for township status which would prevent the city from annexing the land without the commission's approval. The commission voted to create the unincorporated township of Paradise on December 8, 1950.