CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION is a fast-paced drama about a team of forensic investigators trained to solve crimes by examining the evidence. They are on the case 24/7, scouring the scene, collecting the irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery. Catherine Willows, a hard-working single parent with a checkered past and a teenage daughter she’s raising on her own, heads the team of investigators at the Crime Lab in Las Vegas, following previous leader Gil Grissom’s departure. The team’s other members include Dr. Raymond Langston, a former pathologist who joins the Las Vegas Crime Lab after consulting on a serial killer case; Nick Stokes, a true-blue stand-up guy who empathizes with victims via his own experiences; and Greg Sanders, the off-beat tech analyst turned field investigator. The CSI team members also work closely with Capt. Jim Brass, the former chief, now assigned to Homicide; Dr. Albert Robbins, the ever-professional medical examiner and his assistant, David Phillips; and David Hodges and Wendy Simms, lab technicians with specialties in trace and foreign-substance analysis.
GO TO THE WOMEN OF CSI LAS VEGAS
- Helgenberger has received both Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations for her role as Catherine Willows in CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION. Her additional television credits include "China Beach," for which she won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of K.C., and recurring guest appearances in the series "ER" as George Clooney's character's love interest; and roles in the movies "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town," on CBS, "Thanks of a Grateful Nation" and "The Happy Face Murders," and the mini-series "The Tommyknockers." Helgenberger has appeared in the feature films "Mr. Brooks," "In Good Company," "Erin Brockovich," "Species," "Species II," "Fire Down Below," "The Last Time I Committed Suicide," "My Fellow Americans," "The Cowboy Way," "Bad Boys," "Always" and "Crooked Hearts." She was born in North Bend, Neb., and lives in Los Angeles. Her birth date is Nov. 16.
Las Vegas is the most populous city in Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of casino resorts and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, it is the 28th most populous city in the United States with an estimated population by the U.S. Census Bureau of 558,383 as of 2008. The estimated population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area as of 2008, was 1,865,746.
Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a popular railroad town in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for all the mines in the surrounding area, especially those around the town of Bullfrog, that shipped their goods out to the rest of the country. With the proliferation of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important but the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam in 1935 resulted in the growth of residents and tourism. The dam, located 30 mi (48 km) southeast of the city, also formed Lake Mead, the US's largest man-made lake and reservoir. Today, tours are offered into lesser known parts of the dam.
The legalization of gambling in 1931 led to the advent of the casino-hotels, for which Las Vegas is famous. Major development occurred in the 1940s. The success of the city's early casino businesses was owed to American organized crime. Most of the original large casinos were managed or at least funded under mob figures Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Meyer Lansky or other mob figures at this time. The rapid growth of this gambling empire is credited with dooming Galveston, Texas; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and other major gaming centers in the 1950s.
Las Vegas has been referred as "The Mississippi of the West" for its racist history, particularly in its discrimination against African Americans.
Las Vegas came to be known as the Marriage Capital of the World due to the ease in acquiring a marriage license and the minimal costs involved. The city continues to be known as a popular wedding destination for the same reasons, but also as a result of the various types of weddings available.
With the arrival in the late 1960s of businessman Howard Hughes, who purchased many casino-hotels, as well as television and radio stations in the city, legitimate corporations began to purchase casino-hotels as well, and the mob was run out by the federal government over the next several years.
Las Vegas is situated on the arid desert floor within Clark County. The surrounding environment is dominated by desert vegetation and some wildlife, and the area is subject to torrential flash floods. Enabling the rapid population expansion was a major addition to the city's sewage treatment capacity. Las Vegas' climate is an arid, desert climate, typical of the Mojave Desert in which it lies. The city enjoys abundant sunshine year-round and has an average of about 300 sunny days per year, with very little rainfall. The summer months of June through September are very hot and mostly dry with average daytime highs of 94 °F (34 °C)-104 °F (40 °C) and nighttime lows of 69 °F (21 °C)-78 °F (26 °C); and most days in July and August exceed 100 °F (38 °C) but with very low humidity, frequently under 10%. Las Vegas' winters are of short duration and the season is generally mild, with daytime highs near 60 °F (16 °C) and nighttime lows around 40 °F (4 °C). The mountains surrounding Las Vegas accumulate snow during the winter but snow is rare in the Las Vegas Valley itself. Several years apart, however, snow has fallen in the valley. Temperatures can sometimes drop to freezing 32 °F (0 °C) but winter nighttime temperatures will rarely dip below 30 degrees.
The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have been the confluence of tourism, gaming, and conventions which in turn feed the retail and dining industries. The city serves as world headquarters for the world's two largest Fortune 500 gaming companies, Harrah's Entertainment and MGM Mirage. Several companies involved in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines, such as slot machines, are located in the Las Vegas area. In the 2000s retail and dining have become attractions of their own. Tourism marketing and promotion are handled by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a county wide agency. Its annual Visitors Survey provides detailed information on visitor numbers, spending patterns and resulting revenues.
When The Mirage opened in 1989, it started a trend of further development of the southern portion of the Las Vegas Strip. This resulted in a drop in tourism in the downtown area but many recent projects and condominium construction have increased visitors to downtown.
A concerted effort has been made by city officials to diversify the economy from tourism by attracting light manufacturing, banking, and other commercial interests. The lack of state individual and corporate income tax and very simple incorporation requirements have fostered the success of this effort.
Las Vegas has recently enjoyed an enormous boom both in population and tourism. The urban area has grown outward so quickly that it is beginning to run into Bureau of Land Management holdings along its edges, increasing land values enough that medium- and high-density development is beginning to occur closer to the core. As a reflection of the city's rapid growing population, the new Chinatown of Las Vegas was constructed in the early 1990s on Spring Mountain Road. Chinatown initially consisted of only one large shopping center complex, but the area was recently expanded for new shopping centers that contain various Asian businesses.