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

Exactly what takes place in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely have not heard.

1. Many of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically located 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 town called Paradise, Nevada.

2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that commands 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 great thing 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 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 homeowners.

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 discriminatory 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. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and leave the places where they were performing through back entrances and side entranceways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Afterwards, the supervisor had it drained pipes.

9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it ended up being the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Legendary boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, declared, "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 placing on a various 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 marketing detonation times and choice viewing locations.

Famous recluse Howard Hughes examined into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day reservation, he was asked to leave.

12. FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he produced the business-- 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. Factor to hope? Nevada law mentions that video fruit machine need 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 capture a marital relationship license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. up until midnight. Not surprising that some 10,000 couples wed in the city monthly.

16. Let them consume ... shrimp mixed drinks? More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city every day. That's higher than the rest of the country-- combined.

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 shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the original Great 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 distinctive 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 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 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.

23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses gown 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 area's regular patrons passed away ... this page from an apparent heart attack.

24. From outer 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. A good part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.

One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famous Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. 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 casinos and hotels.

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