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

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

1. The majority of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A good portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "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 renowned Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon sign in the world.

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

4. ... So it's an advantage the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 most significant hotels.

5. There's a lot realty for travelers 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 below the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally built to safeguard the desert town from flash floods-- home 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. Starlet 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 from the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels. Even famous entertainers 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. took a dip in the whites-only pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Later on, the supervisor 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, 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, simply 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 distribute calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing places.

11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes explored the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the whole leading two floorings. He was asked to leave when he las vegas strip overstayed his 10-day booking. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later.

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

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

Nevada law states that video slot machines need to 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 capital Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes approximately 10 minutes to nab 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.

16. Let them consume ... shrimp mixed drinks? More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city every day. That's higher than the rest of the country-- combined.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- simply three miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact larger than the initial 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 spaces at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the variety of locals in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into casinos? The city likewise 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 promote it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses clothes and customers can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger 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' renowned 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 actually situated in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that presides over downtown's famous 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 hotels and gambling establishments.

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