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

What occurs in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. But here are 24 truths about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. The majority of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Invite 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 extra-large neon cowboy that commands downtown's well known 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 an excellent thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.

5. There's so much realty for travelers to take advantage of, it would take a person 288 years to spend a night in every hotel space in the city.

6. There's a secret city below the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially built to protect the desert town from flash floods-- house numerous homeless homeowners.

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" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.

In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed 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 & Casino.

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

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a various type of program. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option viewing areas.

11. Legendary recluse Howard Hughes explored the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the whole top two floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day booking, he was asked to leave. Rather, he started negotiations to buy the 715-room spot. His purchase was total 3 months later on.

FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery business with a journey 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.

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

14. Factor to hope? Nevada law specifies that video slot devices should pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the money deposited on average. (Though it deserves keeping in mind that in New Jersey, home to gambling mecca 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. until midnight. Not surprising that 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 greater than the rest of the nation-- combined.

17. The half-scale model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially prepared to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- just three miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the original Great Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 tons, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is thought to be the biggest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.

19. The unique gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from actual gold dust.

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

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city also features a heavy devices play ground where building enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for fun.

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

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses clothes and clients can purchase an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the area's regular clients passed away ... from an obvious heart attack.

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


Many of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that presides over downtown's famed news 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 had 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 casinos and hotels.

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