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

What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely haven't 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 famous "Welcome 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 presides over 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 a good thing 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 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-- originally constructed 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 famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill went by 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 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. 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 ended up being the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Legendary boxer 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 understood for putting on a various type of program. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and decided to distribute calendars advertising detonation times and choice watching areas.

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

12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- three years after he produced 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 disrupt: Vegas has more unlisted contact number than other city in the United States.

14. Factor to hope? Nevada law states that video slots must pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited on average. (Though nevada it's worth noting that in New Jersey, the home of gambling capital 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. till midnight. No surprise 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 nation-- integrated.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- simply 3 miles-- it had actually to be diminished down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is really larger 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 distinct gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel originates 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 gambling establishments? The city also features a heavy equipment playground where construction 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 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 order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the area's regular patrons passed away ... from an evident heart attack.

24. From deep space, the Las Vegas Strip appears as the brightest area 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 "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the extra-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 legendary 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 gambling establishments and hotels.

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