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

What happens in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. Here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. Many 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" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famed 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 tourists to make the most of, it would take a person 288 years to spend a night in every hotel room in the city.

6. There's a secret city below the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially built to safeguard 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 legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed the label "The Flamingo" since 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 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. Famous 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 show. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars promoting detonation times and option watching places.

Famous recluse Howard Hughes inspected into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day reservation, 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 created 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 offered the business enough cash to stay afloat.

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

Nevada law mentions that video slot makers 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 snatch a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city each month.

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

17. The half-scale model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially prepared to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- simply three miles-- it had to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is really larger than the initial Terrific Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 loads, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is believed to be the biggest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.

19. The unique gold color of read more 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 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 fun.

22. Before 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 restaurant Cardiovascular disease Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and clients can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Unfortunately, in 2013, among the area's regular clients died ... from an apparent cardiovascular disease.

24. From external space, the Las Vegas Strip looks like the brightest spot on Earth. Who cares if it's not actually in Las Vegas?


Many of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are really located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.

One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famed Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from founder-- and famous 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 jobs-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments.

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