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

Exactly what takes place 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' iconic hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are actually located in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that commands downtown's famed Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon indication 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 so much genuine estate for travelers to benefit from, 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-- originally developed to secure the desert town from flash floods-- house hundreds of homeless citizens.

7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed the label "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 jobs-- 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 & Gambling Establishment.

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

10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was understood for placing on a different kind of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would test nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars advertising 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. He was asked to leave when he overstayed his 10-day booking. Instead, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later on.

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 venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack. His, er, gamble provided the company enough cash to remain afloat.

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

Nevada law specifies that video slot devices 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 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. until midnight. No surprise 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 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 distance of the airport-- simply three miles-- it needed to be shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Fantastic Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 loads, 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 originates from real gold dust.

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

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city likewise features a heavy devices play area where building enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.

22. Prior to his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was looking into doing a Vegas residency. He prepared to promote it with a imp source 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses gown in nurses clothes and customers can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner 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 appears as 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 good part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really situated in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.

One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that administers over downtown's well known 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 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 gambling establishments and hotels.

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