What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. Here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely haven't heard.
1. Many of Vegas' renowned 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 situated in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the extra-large 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 good idea the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 most significant hotels.
5. There's a lot genuine estate for travelers to benefit from, it would take a person 288 years to spend a night in every hotel space in the city.
6. There's a secret city below the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially built 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 founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed the label "The Flamingo" due to the fact that of her red hair and long, thin legs.
8. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service jobs-- kept African Americans from the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were forced to go into and leave the places where they were performing through back doors and side entrances. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Afterwards, the manager had it drained pipes.
In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial casino. 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 understood for putting on a different type of program. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would evaluate nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option watching locations.
11. Famous 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 reservation. Instead, he started negotiations to buy the 715-room spot. His purchase was complete three months later on.
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.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted telephone number than any other city in the United States.
Nevada law mentions that video slot makers need to pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited on average. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, house to betting capital Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).
15. It takes roughly 10 minutes to nab a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. till midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city monthly.
More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city each day. That's greater than the website rest of the nation-- integrated.
17. The half-scale design of the Eiffel Tower, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially prepared to be full-size, however 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 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 comes from actual gold dust.
20. There are 3933 guest rooms at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the number of locals in the city of Bellagio, Italy.
21. Not into casinos? The city also features a heavy equipment playground where construction lovers can drive around bulldozers for enjoyable.
22. Prior to his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was checking out doing a Vegas residency. He prepared to promote it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.
23. At Vegas diner Cardiac arrest Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and patrons can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) In 2013, one of the area's routine customers passed away ... from an apparent 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" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.
One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: 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 famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of discriminatory Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service tasks-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels.