24 Things You Should Learn About Las Vegas and the Neighboring Strip

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

1. The majority of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A good portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famous "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are really situated in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that commands downtown's famed Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon sign in the world.

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

4. ... So it's a great thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 greatest hotels.

5. There's so much property for tourists to benefit from, it would take an individual 288 years to invest a night in every hotel room in the city.

6. There's a secret city underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially constructed to secure the desert town from flash floods-- house 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 nickname "The Flamingo" due to the fact that of her red hair and long, thin legs.

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. 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 became the city's first interracial casino. Legendary fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't really the opening of a Las Vegas hotel.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a different type of show. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing locations.

11. Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked out the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire leading 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day appointment, he was asked to leave. Rather, he began negotiations to buy the 715-room spot. His purchase was complete three months later.

12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he developed 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 gave the company enough money to stay afloat.

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

14. Need to hope? Nevada law specifies that video slots need this review here to repay a minimum of 75 percent of the loan transferred usually. (Though it deserves keeping in mind that in New Jersey, the home of 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. till midnight. Not surprising that some 10,000 couples wed in the city every month.

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

17. The half-scale model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- just three miles-- it needed to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Excellent Sphinx of Giza.

18. At 50 heaps, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is thought to be the biggest 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 citizens in the city of Bellagio, Italy.

21. Not into gambling establishments? The city likewise includes a heavy equipment play area where building enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for fun.

22. Before 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 roam the Nevada desert.

At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and patrons can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the area's routine customers passed away ... from an apparent heart attack.

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


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

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: 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 founder-- 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 casinos and hotels.

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