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

Exactly what occurs in Vegas ... well, you understand 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 famous "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are actually located in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One destination 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 greatest hotels.

5. There's a lot property for travelers to take benefit 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 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 legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Starlet Virginia Hill passed 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 prejudiced 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. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Famous boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, declared, "This isn't really 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 disperse calendars promoting detonation times and choice viewing places.

11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes examined into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the whole leading 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day appointment, he was asked to leave. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later.

FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 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.

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

14. Need to hope? Nevada law specifies that video fruit machine need to repay a minimum of 75 percent of the cash transferred usually. (Though it deserves noting that in useful reference New Jersey, home to gambling mecca Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).

15. It takes roughly 10 minutes to snatch a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. No wonder 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 originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- just three miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Terrific 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 distinctive 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 casinos? The city likewise includes a heavy devices play area where building 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.

23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses gown in nurses garb and clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Unfortunately, in 2013, one of the area's routine customers passed away ... from an apparent cardiovascular disease.

24. From external 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. An excellent part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are in fact situated in an unincorporated town called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the 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 founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed 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.

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