Thirty-eight dispensaries in Sin City began selling recreational weed on July 1 of this year. According to a few shops in the area, it was an event that brought close to 5 times the amount of transactions than any other normal day. And, as predicted, the state reaped the benefits of it to the tune of miiiiillions. 

The Las Vegas Sun reports that in its first four days of recreational opportunities, the city "generated $3 million in sales revenue and about $500,000 in tax revenue, putting Nevada on pace to achieve an estimated $30 million in sales revenue over the next six months." This all according to the Nevada Dispensary Association.

Small change when you consider an average casino in the heart of the city makes $600,000 per day in gaming transactions. But we digress. …

"The first week was met with a palpable energy that set historic benchmarks," says Gus D'Arthenay, Director of Operations at Thrive Cannabis Marketplace — one of the couple-dozen-or-so places that were allowed to start recreational sales early. "Being one of only two dispensaries in Nevada that operate 24/7, our North Las Vegas location saw over 1,000 energized and excited customers in the first 24 hours. Our downtown location met the tourist market with the same level of excitement, too. Our lines remained constant and 200-plus people deep through the 4th of July."

The opening week didn't exactly come close to Colorado-levels of weed sales, but it wasn't far off, either. In Colorado's opening week, it raked in $5 million with 37 dispensaries able to sell at the time. To date, it's collected more than $506 million in tax revenue (or a little over $140 mil a year on average) — a major milestone in an industry poised to be worth close to $30 billion in less than a decade.

With over 40 million tourists visiting Las Vegas every year dropping over $30 billion (compared to Colorado's $19 billion), it's poised to give established states decent enough competition in the ganja game over the next few years.

And the real banger boom hasn't even hit Las Vegas yet, as the 38 dispensaries selling recreational weed right now are all part of a "quick start" initiative that allowed for stores in good standing with the state to jump in line before outside investors and already established dispensaries can join the market on January 1 of 2018. As of May 2017, there are currently 60 registered dispensaries in Las Vegas, with the potential to triple that number in 2018 a real possibility — many of them for recreational sales to tap into the tourists' pockets.

Las Vegas, Mother Earth's shiny new Amsterdam. 

“Turn up the radio. Turn up the tape machine. Look into the sunset up ahead. Roll the windows down for a better taste of the cool desert wind. Ah yes. This is what it’s all about. Total control now. Tooling along the main drag on a Saturday night in Las Vegas, two good old boys in a fireapple-red convertible … stoned, ripped, twisted … Good People.”
– Hunter S. Thompson