Exactly what occurs in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. Here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely have not heard.
1. The majority of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. An excellent portion of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are in fact located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that commands downtown's renowned Fremont Street. It's the biggest mechanical neon sign 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 realty for tourists to take advantage of, it would take a person 288 years to invest a night in every hotel space in the city.
6. There's a secret city below the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally built to safeguard the desert town from flash floods-- home numerous homeless residents.
7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Starlet Virginia Hill passed the label "The Flamingo" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.
8. 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 from the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and leave the places in which 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 & Gambling Establishment. Afterwards, the manager had it drained.
In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial gambling establishment. Famous fighter Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't really the opening of a Las Vegas hotel.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a different type of show. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option watching areas.
11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes looked into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the entire top two floors. When he overstayed his 10-day booking, he was asked to leave. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later on.
12. FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he developed 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 company enough money to stay afloat.
13. Do not interrupt: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any other city in the United States.
Nevada law states that video slot machines must pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the money 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 nab a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. No wonder 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 model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally prepared to be full-size, however due to the close distance of the airport-- simply 3 miles-- it needed to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is really bigger 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 nevada guest rooms at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the number of residents in the city of Bellagio, Italy.
21. Not into gambling establishments? The city also features a heavy equipment 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 stroll the Nevada desert.
At Vegas diner Heart Attack Grill, waitresses dress in nurses clothes and clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the area's routine customers 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 town 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 inequitable 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.