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West Wendover, Nevada, is a town along I-80 on the Utah border with a few casinos and not much else. Why stop there? To pay a visit to Wendover Will, the “world’s largest mechanical cowboy”.
Wendover Will
Wendover Will has been greeting visitors to West Wendover since 1952. He stands 63 feet tall and was originally meant to draw people in to the Stateline Casino (now the Wendover Nugget).
Will was named after William Smith, the founder of Stateline Casino. His business actually started out as a service station in 1926. When gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, Smith “hit the jackpot” by transforming the service station into a casino.
The Wendover Nugget took over operations of Stateline Casino in 2004 and donated Will to the city. He was restored and erected in the city center.
West Wendover
As far as West Wendover, it began to develop in the 1930s and 40s after legalized gambling was introduced to Nevada. More casinos, hotels, and other services popped up through the 1970s and 80s. The town wasn’t officially incorporated until July 1, 1991. There have also been attempts to annex neighboring Wendover, Utah.
An interesting fact is that West Wendover is the only town in Nevada that observes the Mountain Time Zone. It was moved out of the Pacific Time Zone in October 1999 due to its strong economic ties to Utah.
