Clark County Commissioner Proposes Name Change to Las Vegas County

Posted on: July 21, 2024, 01:58h. 

Last updated on: July 23, 2024, 08:44h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

It makes perfect sense to Tick Segerblom. He’s the new chair of the Clark County Commission, the seven elected officials who really govern the Las Vegas Strip. Unbeknownst to almost everyone who has never resided in Las Vegas, Clark is the name of the county in which Las Vegas is located.

Is this AI rendering a sign of things to come? (Image: ChatGPT)

In a recent X/Twitter comment, Segerblom wrote: “It’s time to change our name to Las Vegas County.”

It would take away the confusion,” he elaborated to KVVU-TV/Las Vegas. “Everybody lives in ‘Las Vegas,’ but most people don’t actually live in Las Vegas.”

Despite one of Las Vegas’ most persistent myths, no part of the Strip is located in the city of Las Vegas. If your entire Vegas vacation consists of landing at Harry Reid International Airport and staying on the Strip, you’ll never once set foot in the city of Las Vegas, which is what is commonly known as downtown.

In fact, Las Vegas Boulevard (the former Highway 91) was renamed in 1959 not because most of it passed through Las Vegas, but because most of it led to Las Vegas.

The Game of the Name

Clark County was named after William Andrews Clark, the 19th-century copper mining baron and Montana senator whose railroad made Las Vegas a city. (Image: Getty)

According to Segerblom, the proposed name change would help Clark County — named after 19th-century copper and railroad baron William Andrews Clark  — brand itself more successfully.

It would also bring it into line with Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties, which are all named after their most populous and recognizable cities.

But a name change would take more than a social media post. It would take a change in Nevada state law.

And the problem is the untold millions it is likely to cost, at least going by the $7 million it cost just to change the name of the Las Vegas airport from McCarran to Harry Reid in 2021.

Most legislators seem neutral on the change at this point, stating they would support it if their constituents did. Others are decidedly opposed.

“Nooooo @tsegerblom It’s called history!” State Senator Marilyn Dondero Loop commented via X/Twitter.

Why should we spend such a sum?” State Assemblymember Danielle Gallant told KVVU. “Just to provoke the Mayor of Las Vegas? If Tick wants to provoke the Mayor, he should do so at his own expense, not at the expense of taxpayers.”

In her response, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman expertly belittled the county while conveying the appearance of not being provoked.

“Las Vegas is world-famous and I would love to have Tick and the county be a part of our city,” she told KVVU in a statement.