Southern Nevada in the context of "Utah Territory"

The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley land formation, a 600 sq mi (1,600 km) basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada.

The names Las Vegas and Vegas are interchangeably used to indicate the Valley, the Strip, and the city, and as a brand by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to denominate the region. The Valley is affectionately known as the Ninth Island by Hawaii natives and Las Vegans alike, in part due to the large number of people originally from Hawaii who live in and regularly travel to Las Vegas.

Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in "Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace", associated with the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The base also has the Combined Air and Space Operations Center-Nellis.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a quasi government agency and the official destination marketing organization for Southern Nevada. It was founded by the Nevada Legislature in 1955. The LVCVA owns and operates the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and is responsible for the advertising campaigns for the Clark County, Nevada, area. The LVCVA also owns the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, the Las Vegas Monorail, and the Las Vegas News Bureau. The LVCVA previously operated the Cashman Center complex; however the City of Las Vegas took control at the end of 2017 and is evaluating possibilities for the facility's future.

The fourteen-member board of directors of LVCVA is made up of eight elected officials appointed from each local municipality and six private-industry members appointed equally by the Nevada Resort Association and the Vegas Chamber. Funding is provided by a room tax on all hotels in the county and through building revenue from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and through issuing bonds.