Place your bets and join us for an exciting spin through the history of the casino. We'll go behind the neon lights, free drinks, and 24-hour gambling to see how the gaming industry has evolved from a simple house of cards to a high-tech multi-billion dollar industry.

Rising from a stretch of desert with nothing but remoteness to recommend it, Las Vegas became a glittering wonderland for dreamers. We'll take a look at the forces that made Las Vegas a place unlike any on earth.

Half a mile below the earth's surface, men mine for rough diamonds--a pure carbon substance. Brilliant when cut and polished, they are marketed as the most precious gem in the world. From the earliest mines of the 4th century B.C. to today's technological wonders in South Africa, we explore the history and technology of the diamond mine.

It was called the "mother lode," a deposit of silver so massive that it would produce $300-million in its first 25 years of operation, establish Nevada as a state, and bankroll the Union Army in the Civil War. Named after an early investor, we'll see how the Comstock Lode, discovered near Virginia City, proved to be a scientific laboratory from which vast improvements in mining technology and safety were pioneered, including innovations in drilling, ventilation, drainage, and ore processing.

Around the world and across the eons, gold stands as a symbol of power, wealth, and love. The quest for the yellow metal took men across oceans, into the depths of the Alaskan winter, and miles beneath South African earth.

From the first well in Pennsylvania to the gushing Spindletop and modern supertankers, the story of oil is the story of civilization as we know it. We'll take a look at the ingenious and outrageous men who risked everything for "black gold" and unimaginable wealth.

How does America make money--literally? We visit the United States Mint and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see the secretive government facilities where our legal tender is generated. With a storied past as tantalizing as the wealth they create, these mints can spit out fortunes in an hour and keep our economy flowing.

Backbones of worldwide economics, for centuries banks enabled the creation of wealth, and industry leaders became icons. But modern technology revolutionized the way banks do business, and the Internet ensures they must adapt or disappear. From banking's early European origins to "e-banking," this is an hour you can't afford to miss!