Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas

The untold story of the world’s most famous neon sign and the extraordinary woman who created it.

Las Vegas in the 1950s and 1960s was a city coming out of wartime and into the public eye. All it needed was the right person to light it up – and against all the odds, that person was Betty Willis.

With the Cold War heating up and A-bomb tests going off just outside of town, Willis led a diverse team of glassblowers, metalworkers and electricians in a bold project to illuminate the desert sky. Her iconic neon creations would attract gamblers, filmmakers and artists from across the world. But working in an industry dominated by men, in a town run by the mob, presented its share of challenges.

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas charts the career of one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant designers. It is an epic tale of a city and the people who built it, from famous showgirls and entertainers with their names in lights to the women and men working behind the scenes.