24 Things You Must Know About Las Vegas and the Nearby Strip

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

1. The majority of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated 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 located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that commands downtown's well known Fremont Street. It's the biggest mechanical neon indication 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 property for travelers to make the most of, it would take a person 288 years to invest a night in every hotel space in the city.

6. There's a secret city underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially built to protect the desert town from flash floods-- house numerous homeless residents.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from founder-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Actress 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 famous entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to enter and exit the locations where they were carrying out through back doors and side entryways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Later on, the supervisor had it drained pipes.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it ended up being the city's first interracial casino. Legendary fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't the opening of a Las Vegas hotel. It's history."

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was understood for putting on a different type of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would evaluate nuclear gadgets. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing places.

Legendary 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 booking, he was asked to leave.

12. 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 grad 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 disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers 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 betting 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. up 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 higher than the rest of the country-- integrated.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close check this blog distance of the airport-- simply 3 miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the initial Excellent Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 lots, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is thought to be the largest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.

19. The distinctive gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from real gold dust.

20. There are 3933 guest spaces 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 construction enthusiasts 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.

23. At Vegas restaurant Cardiovascular disease Grill, waitresses gown in nurses attire and patrons can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Sadly, in 2013, one of the spot's routine customers passed away ... from an apparent cardiovascular disease.

24. From external space, the Las Vegas Strip looks like the brightest area 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. A great portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

One destination that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famous Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- and famous 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 hotels and gambling establishments.

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