While major Nevada casino stakeholders have been heavily investing in the emerging Asian gambling markets, one Chinese entrepreneur is betting on the future of electric cars – and investing (to the tune of US $1 billion) in an assembly and manufacturing plant – to be built just north of Las Vegas.

Nevada is no stranger to technological innovation, as gaming intellectual property development has been a driving force behind the industry worldwide. And yet, despite Governor Sandoval’s encouragement to maintain and exceed that cutting edge of gambling creativity, he passionately pursued other emerging technological industries to help further stimulate the state’s floundering economy.

New mega-industrial sites, specifically Tesla Motor Inc.’s [NASDAQ: TSLA] lithium battery manufacturing plant located in the north west of Nevada outside Reno and the recently announced Chinese-funded Faraday Future electric car manufacturing plant just north of Las Vegas in Nevada’s southern tip, will bring the state tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and significant state revenue. Many gaming industry insiders hope that the inevitable economic stimulation will breathe some life back into the long-sagging leisure and entertainment industry.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas resort casinos are racing to keep abreast of their industries’ transformation – retooling properties such as the newly renovated LINQ Hotel and Casino to attract the tech-savvy millennials who will fill the rank and file of these industrial jobs. And the Nevada casino resorts that innovate to include seamless integration of both club and gaming environments may have the greatest chance of capitalizing on the state’s investments into the world of future technology industries.