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

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

1. Most of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the extra-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 real estate for travelers to make the most of, it would take an individual 288 years to spend a night in every hotel room in the city.

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

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" due to the fact that 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 jobs-- kept African Americans from the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were forced to go into and leave the places where they were performing through back doors and side entrances. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only 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 gambling establishment. Famous fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't 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 different kind of program. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would evaluate nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option viewing locations.

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 booking, he was asked to leave.

FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey 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.

13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any other city in the United States.

Nevada law specifies that video slot devices should pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited on average. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, home to gambling mecca Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes approximately 10 minutes to capture 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 monthly.

16. Let them consume ... shrimp mixed drinks? More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city every day. That's greater than the remainder 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 three miles-- it had to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Excellent 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 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 residents in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into casinos? The city also features a heavy devices play ground where building and construction lovers can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.

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 wander the Nevada desert.

23. At Vegas diner Cardiac arrest Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and patrons can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Regrettably, in 2013, among the area's routine customers passed away ... from an obvious 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?


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

One destination that imp source is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's renowned 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 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 hotels and casinos.

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