Exactly what takes place in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. Here are 24 truths about Sin City you likely have not heard.
1. Most of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A great part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Invite to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are really situated in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's renowned Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon check in the world.
3. More than 41 million visitors cycle through Sin City each year ...
4. ... So it's an advantage the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 most significant hotels.
5. There's a lot real estate for tourists to benefit from, it would take an individual 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 safeguard the desert town from flash floods-- home numerous homeless residents.
7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from founder-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Starlet Virginia Hill passed the nickname "The Flamingo" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.
In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of prejudiced 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. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. took a dip in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino.
9. 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. 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 Website, simply 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would test nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to disperse calendars promoting detonation times and option watching areas.
Legendary recluse Howard Hughes inspected into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the whole leading 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day appointment, he was asked to leave.
12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the delivery company with a trip to Vegas. In 1974-- three years after he produced 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 provided the business enough cash to remain afloat.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any other city in the United States.
14. Need to hope? Nevada law states that video slots should pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited typically. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, the home of gambling mecca 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. until 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-- Source 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-- 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 actual gold dust.
20. There are 3933 guest rooms at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the number of residents in the city of Bellagio, Italy.
21. Not into casinos? The city also includes a heavy devices play ground where building and 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 planned to promote it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.
23. At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses garb and patrons can order an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. (Fried in pure lard!) In 2013, one of the spot's regular patrons passed away ... from an obvious heart attack.
24. From outer space, the Las Vegas Strip appears as the brightest area on Earth. Who cares if it's not in fact in Las Vegas?
Many of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A great portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the famed "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact situated in an unincorporated area called Paradise, Nevada.
One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that administers over downtown's renowned Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from creator-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. 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 out of the growing city's gambling establishments and hotels.