Re: economic conduct: I was referring to the fact that San Diego is on the ocean and has a crucial shipping port. Las Vegas is traversed by a highway, but that highway could just as well be served by a small town (with a very large gas station).
Don't forget the railroad - which was one of the major reasons Vegas got started. That and there were a few natural artesian wells in the valley.
And as for highways, the information superhighway has a significant presence in Las Vegas too - Switch was the largest datacenter in the world for over five years and it's far from the only one here.
