What takes place in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely haven't heard.
1. Most of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated 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 area called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that commands downtown's well known Fremont Street. It's the biggest 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 property for travelers to benefit from, it would take a person 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 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 label "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 where they were carrying out through back doors and side entryways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Later on, 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. Famous 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 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 decided to distribute calendars promoting detonation times and option watching places.
11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes explored the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the whole top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day booking, he was asked to leave. Rather, he began negotiations to buy the 715-room spot. His purchase was complete three months later.
FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he developed the business-- the Yale grad took the venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than other city in the United States.
Nevada law states that video slot machines must pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the loan transferred on average. (Though it's worth keeping in mind that in New Jersey, house to betting 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. until midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city each 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-- combined.
17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- simply three miles-- it had to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is really larger than the original Great Sphinx of Giza.
18. At 50 tons, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is thought to be the biggest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.
19. The unique gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from real gold dust.
20. There are 3933 guest spaces at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the number of locals in the city of Bellagio, Italy.
21. Not into casinos? The city likewise includes a heavy equipment playground where building and construction lovers can drive around bulldozers for fun.
22. Prior to 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 clothes and customers can purchase an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Regrettably, in 2013, one of the spot's routine clients passed away ... from an apparent cardiovascular disease.
24. From deep space, the Las Vegas Strip appears as the brightest area on Earth. Who cares if it's not really in Las useful reference Vegas?
Most of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A good portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated town 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 hotels and gambling establishments.