The townsite of Laughlin was established in the 1940s as
South Pointe because of the proximity to the southern tip of the state of Nevada. The early town consisted of a motel and bar that catered to gold and silver miners, construction workers building
Davis Dam, and fishing enthusiasts. In the 1950s, construction workers left, and the town functionally disappeared. In 1964, Don Laughlin, owner of the 101 Club in Las Vegas, flew over the site and saw its tourism potential. He offered to buy the land, and within a few years, the
Riverside Resort motel and casino, consisting of only 12 slots and two live tables, began operating. A second casino, the Bobcat Club, opened in 1967, where the Golden Nugget Laughlin currently operates. In 1968, a third casino, the Monte Carlo, opened its doors. The neighboring
Bullhead City, Arizona was a key part in Laughlin's growth, with shuttle boats transporting customers from the Arizona side of the river to Laughlin's resorts and back. The southernmost tip of Nevada, along the Colorado River, where Nevada, California, and Arizona meet, was a major national tourist destination and gambling resort during the 70s, 80s & 90s. In the 1980s, Laughlin was developed with the construction of several more hotels and casinos. The Colorado Hotel (now the Pioneer), The Regency, Sam's Town Gold River (now the Laughlin River Lodge), and The Edgewater opened in the early 1980s. Other investors saw the growth as an opportunity to get in on the action. A second boom resulted in the construction of The Colorado Belle, Harrah's Del Rio, and The Ramada Express (now The Tropicana Laughlin). In 1987, Don Laughlin funded and built the Laughlin Bridge at a cost of $3.5 million, which connected Laughlin to
Bullhead City. He donated the bridge to the states of Nevada and Arizona. The bridge carries 30,000 vehicles daily. In 1988, a
megaresort project called
Emerald River was announced. The $800 million project would have included four hotel-casinos, but construction was halted in 1990 due to financing problems, leaving two unfinished towers. A golf course was the only aspect of Emerald River to be completed, operating from 1990 until 2005. The Flamingo Hilton, now known as The Aquarius, was built in 1990. The
Mohave Power Station opened in 1971, and closed down on December 31, 2005.
Incorporation attempts In 2012, some residents disapproving of Clark County politics made a push to incorporate Laughlin as a city in order to stave off additional lost business opportunities, as well as gain local control. The proposal did not include Laughlin Casinos. When the proposal came to a vote in a referendum, the vote was 57 percent opposed to 43 percent in favor. In 2019, Senate Bill 213 failed to pass the Nevada legislature’s Committee of Government Affairs, which would have made Laughlin a city without the consent of the voters. This would have given Laughlin representation on 9 of the 15 entities now providing services to the community In 2021, Senate Bill 79 was introduced to allow for an election for incorporation in 2022. The Bill was sent to the Committee of Government Affairs where it failed to pass. Some local residents of the community also expressed concern that incorporation would make Laughlin unaffordable for senior citizens during the covid-19 pandemic. Others viewed it as an excuse to “raid” the Ft. Mohave Development Fund Senator Hardy, explained to community members in the March 9, 2021, meeting that the reason he introduced the bill was to provide better public safety services to a growing Laughlin. Currently, there are memorandums of understanding with Bullhead City for fire protection in Laughlin. ==Geography==