What happens in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. Here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely have not heard.
1. Most of Vegas' iconic 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" sign-- are really 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 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 a lot realty for tourists to make the most of, it would take an individual 288 years to spend a night in every hotel room in the city.
6. There's a secret city beneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially constructed to protect the desert town from flash floods-- house hundreds of homeless citizens.
7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from creator-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed 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 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. Even famous entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were forced to enter and exit the locations in which they were carrying out through back entrances and side entranceways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Later on, the supervisor had it drained.
In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it ended up being the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Famous fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't really the opening of a Las Vegas hotel.
10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a different type of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the United States 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 option watching areas.
11. Legendary recluse Howard Hughes checked out the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors. He was asked to leave when he overstayed his 10-day booking. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total three months later on.
12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith saved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 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 survive.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any 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 mecca 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. up until midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city monthly.
16. Let them consume ... shrimp cocktails? 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 design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- simply 3 miles-- it needed to be diminished down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the initial Terrific Sphinx of Giza.
18. At 50 lots, 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 comes from actual gold dust.
20. There are 3933 guest rooms 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 equipment playground where construction lovers can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.
22. Before his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was looking into doing a Vegas residency. He planned to market it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would stroll the Nevada desert.
23. At Vegas restaurant Cardiac arrest Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and clients can purchase an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Sadly, in 2013, one of the area's regular patrons died ... from an evident cardiac arrest.
24. From external area, the Las Vegas Strip appears as the brightest spot on Earth. Who cares if it's not in fact in Las Vegas?
Many of Vegas' iconic news hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are actually located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.
One destination that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famous Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino 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.