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

What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. But here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely haven't heard.

1. The majority of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that presides over downtown's famous 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 idea the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 greatest hotels.

5. There's so much property for travelers to benefit from, it would take a person 288 years to spend 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 girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill went by the label "The Flamingo" due to the fact that of her red hair and long, thin legs.

8. 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 from the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were forced to go into and leave the venues in which they were performing through back entrances and side entryways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Afterwards, the manager had it drained.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial casino. Famous fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "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 different type of program. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing places.

Famous recluse Howard Hughes examined into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day reservation, 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 produced 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 loan to stay afloat.

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

Nevada law mentions that video slot devices 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, home to gambling capital 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. till midnight. No marvel 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 higher than the rest of the nation-- integrated.

17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially prepared to be full-size, however due to the close proximity of the airport-- just three miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually bigger than the original Fantastic Sphinx of Giza.

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

19. The distinct gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel originates from real gold dust.

20. There are 3933 guest spaces at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the variety of locals in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into casinos? The city also includes a heavy devices play ground 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 wander the Nevada desert.

23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses clothes and clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) In 2013, one of the spot's regular read more patrons passed away ... from an evident heart attack.

24. From deep 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' renowned hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A good part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

One destination that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's well known Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino 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 hotels and casinos.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *