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

What occurs in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. But here are 24 realities 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 portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are really situated 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 presides over downtown's famous 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 a lot realty for tourists to make the most 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 underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally constructed 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 famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Actress Virginia Hill went by the nickname "The Flamingo" since of her red hair and long, thin legs.

8. 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 casinos. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and exit the locations where they were carrying out through back entrances and side entryways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Afterwards, the manager had it drained.

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

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a different type of show. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars promoting detonation times and option watching places.

Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day appointment, he was asked to leave.

12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- three years after he produced the company-- the Yale graduate took the venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack. His, er, gamble gave the company enough money to remain afloat.

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 must pay back a minimum more info of 75 percent of the cash transferred usually. (Though it deserves keeping in mind 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. up until midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city each 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 proximity of the airport-- just 3 miles-- it had actually to be diminished down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the original Excellent Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 heaps, 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 number of homeowners in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city likewise features a heavy equipment play ground where building and construction enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for fun.

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

At Vegas restaurant Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner fries. In 2013, one of the spot's routine customers passed away ... from an apparent heart attack.

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


Most of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that presides over downtown's renowned Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from founder-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas had its own set of prejudiced Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service jobs-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's casinos and hotels.

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