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

What takes place in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. But here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. Many of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A good portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are actually situated in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that commands downtown's famous Fremont Street. It's the biggest mechanical neon check in the world.

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

4. ... So it's a good thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 most significant hotels.

5. There's a lot property for tourists to benefit from, it would take a person 288 years to invest a night in every hotel space in the city.

6. There's a secret city below the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally built to safeguard the desert town from flash floods-- home numerous homeless residents.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Starlet Virginia Hill passed the nickname "The Flamingo" since of her red hair and long, thin legs.

In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas had its own set of prejudiced 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 & Gambling Establishment.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial casino. Legendary boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't really the opening of a Las Vegas hotel. It's history."

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was understood for placing on a various kind of program. At the Nevada Test Website, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would test nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to disperse calendars promoting detonation times and option watching locations.

Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the whole leading 2 floorings. 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-- three years after he created the company-- the Yale grad took the venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack. His, er, gamble provided the company enough cash to remain afloat.

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

14. Reason to hope? Nevada law states that video fruit machine should pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited typically. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, the home of gambling mecca Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes roughly 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. Not surprising that some 10,000 couples wed in the city each month.

16. Let them eat ... shrimp cocktails? More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city each day. That's higher than the remainder of the nation-- integrated.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially prepared to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- simply three miles-- it had to be shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the original Great Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 tons, 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 originates 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 likewise includes a heavy equipment play area where building lovers can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.

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

23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Sadly, in 2013, among the spot's regular patrons passed away ... from an apparent heart attack.

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


Many of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are actually situated in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that presides over downtown's famed Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from creator-- and famous 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 jobs-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels.

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