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

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

1. The majority of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A good portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are actually 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 famed 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 greatest hotels.

5. There's so much property for tourists to make the most of, it would take an individual 288 years to invest a night in every hotel room in the city.

6. There's a secret city underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally developed to secure the desert town from flash floods-- home hundreds of homeless locals.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from creator-- 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 had its own set of inequitable 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 entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and exit the venues in which they were performing through back entrances and side entranceways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Afterwards, the manager had it drained pipes.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial casino. 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 known for putting on a different type of show. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option watching locations.

11. Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day booking, he was asked to leave. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room spot. His purchase was total three months later.

FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- three years after he created the company-- the Yale graduate took the endeavor's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack.

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

Nevada law mentions that video slot makers need to pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the loan transferred on average. (Though it's worth keeping in mind that in New Jersey, house to betting capital Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. here 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. 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, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially planned to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- just three miles-- it needed to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is really larger than the original Great 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 variety of citizens 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 looking into doing a Vegas residency. He planned to market it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.

23. At Vegas diner Cardiovascular disease Grill, waitresses gown in nurses garb and customers can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Sadly, in 2013, one of the area's routine patrons died ... from an obvious 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?


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 famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: 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 famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. 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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