24 Things You Should Know About Las Vegas and the Close-by Strip

What happens in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. Here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. Many of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are really situated in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that commands 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 an excellent thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.

5. There's so much realty for travelers to make the most 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 underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally developed to secure the desert town from flash floods-- home numerous homeless residents.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Starlet 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 gambling establishments and hotels. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino.

9. 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. It's history."

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for placing on a various kind of show. 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 opportunity, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and choice viewing areas.

11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes checked out the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire leading 2 floorings. He was asked to leave when he overstayed his 10-day reservation. Instead, he started negotiations to buy the 715-room area. His purchase was total three months later.

FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the shipment business with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he created the company-- the Yale graduate took the endeavor's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack.

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

Nevada law states that video slot makers need to pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the loan transferred on average. (Though it's worth keeping in mind that in New Jersey, house to betting capital Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes approximately 10 minutes to snatch a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. up until midnight. No marvel some 10,000 couples wed in the city monthly.

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 model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- just 3 miles-- it needed to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the original Great Sphinx of Giza.

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

19. The distinctive gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from real gold dust.

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

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city also includes a heavy equipment playground where construction lovers can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.

22. Before 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 wander the Nevada desert.

23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses attire and customers can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) In 2013, one of the spot's routine patrons passed away ... from an evident heart attack.

24. From outer 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 situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy have a peek here that presides over downtown's famed Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment 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 hotels and casinos.

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