Bill Smith, owner of a gas station at the state border, took the opportunity to add a gaming floor and open the Stateline Casino, giving rise to the gambling getaway reputation that Wendover holds to this day. Then, in 1931, the state of Nevada legalized gambling to combat the economic woes of the Great Depression. This new settlement grew slowly at first, but it got an early glimpse of relevance in 1914 when the first transcontinental telephone line from New York to San Francisco was completed at the state border. Though human civilization existed in the area at least 9,000 years ago, the modern settlement of Wendover dates back only to 1907 when it was chosen as the location for a new railroad service station, where water could be piped in from springs in the Pilot Mountain Range to power the steam engines.

While the rest of Nevada is in the Pacific Time Zone, both sides of Wendover observe Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) in the winter and Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-6) from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November. 4,300) – but the two sides share a road network and are basically the same town from a tourist's point of view. Wendover is two separate municipalities – Wendover, Utah (pop. Understand The view from inside the skybridge.

Wendover is also the destination of choice for those attending land speed racing events at Bonneville Speedway, just east of town on the Bonneville Salt Flats. This, in turn, has made Wendover sort of a quieter, more laid-back alternative to Las Vegas even for those who don't live in the region.

The location on the state border makes Wendover the nearest legalized gambling for millions of people, which has led to the construction of large, extravagant casino resorts despite the town being otherwise very small and remote. Wendover is a resort town of about 6,700 people (2012) straddling the border that divides the American states of Utah and Nevada, 120 miles due west of Salt Lake City.

Utah salt flats winter