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

Exactly what occurs in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. Here are 24 truths about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. Most 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 "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are actually situated in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that commands downtown's renowned Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon check in the world.

3. More than 41 million visitors cycle through Sin City each year ...

4. ... So it's an excellent thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.

5. There's a lot realty 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 constructed to protect the desert town from flash floods-- home numerous homeless residents.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- 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 discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service jobs-- kept African Americans from the growing city's casinos and hotels. Even legendary entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and leave the venues in which they were carrying out through back entrances and side entryways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Afterwards, the manager had it drained pipes.

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.

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for placing on a various kind of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the United States Department of Energy would check nuclear gadgets. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and choice viewing places.

11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes checked out the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the entire top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day reservation, he was asked to leave. Instead, he started settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later on.

FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- three 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 phone numbers than any other city in the United States.

14. Need to hope? Nevada law states that video slot machines must pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash transferred typically. (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 catch a marital relationship license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. till 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 country-- combined.

17. The half-scale click site model 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 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 unique gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from actual gold dust.

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

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city likewise includes a heavy devices play area where building enthusiasts 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.

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses clothes and clients can purchase an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the spot's regular clients passed away ... from an obvious heart attack.

24. From deep space, the Las Vegas Strip looks like the brightest area on Earth. Who cares if it's not really in Las Vegas?


Most of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A great portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Invite 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 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 legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. 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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