24 Things You Ought To Understand About Las Vegas and the Nearby Strip

What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely haven't heard.

1. The majority of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated town called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that presides over downtown's famed Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon check in the world.

3. More than 41 million visitors cycle through Sin City each year ...

4. ... So it's a good idea the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.

5. There's so much real estate for travelers to take advantage of, it would take an individual 288 years to invest a night in every hotel room in the city.

6. There's a secret city beneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially constructed to protect the desert town from flash floods-- house hundreds of homeless locals.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from creator-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed the label "The Flamingo" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.

In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas had its own set of inequitable Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service tasks-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino.

In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it ended up being the city's first interracial casino. Legendary boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, declared, "This isn't the opening of a Las Vegas hotel.

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a various kind of program. At the Nevada Test Website, simply 65 miles northwest of the city, the United States Department of Energy would check nuclear gadgets. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and decided to distribute calendars promoting detonation times and option viewing places.

Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day reservation, he was asked to leave.

12. FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he developed the business-- the Yale graduate took the endeavor's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack. His, er, gamble gave the company enough money to stay afloat.

13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted telephone number than other city in the United States.

14. Reason to hope? Nevada law specifies that video slots should repay a minimum of 75 percent of the cash Get More Info transferred typically. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, the home of gambling mecca Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes approximately 10 minutes to catch a marital relationship license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. till midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city every month.

More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city each day. That's higher than the rest of the country-- combined.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close distance of the airport-- simply 3 miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Excellent Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 lots, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is believed to be the largest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.

19. The distinct gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel originates from real gold dust.

20. There are 3933 guest rooms at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the number of homeowners in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city likewise includes a heavy equipment play area where construction enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.

22. Prior to his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was looking into doing a Vegas residency. He prepared to market it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would roam the Nevada desert.

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses gown in nurses attire and patrons can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner fries. In 2013, one of the area's routine patrons passed away ... from an apparent heart attack.

24. From deep space, the Las Vegas Strip looks like the brightest spot on Earth. Who cares if it's not actually in Las Vegas?


Many of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are actually situated in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that presides over downtown's renowned Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service tasks-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels.

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