What happens in Vegas ... well, you understand the rest. However here are 24 facts about Sin City you likely haven't heard.
1. Many 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 situated in an unincorporated township called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One destination 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 greatest hotels.
5. There's a lot real estate 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 below the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally 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 legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's girlfriend. Actress Virginia Hill passed the nickname "The Flamingo" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.
8. 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 from the growing city's casinos and hotels. Even legendary entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and leave the venues in which they were performing through back entrances and side entranceways. 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.
9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Famous boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, declared, "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 kind of show. At the Nevada Test Website, simply 65 miles northwest of the city, the United States Department of Energy would check nuclear gadgets. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and chose to disperse calendars marketing detonation times and option watching areas.
11. Famous recluse Howard Hughes checked into 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. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later on.
12. FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the shipment company with a trip 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 business enough cash to survive.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted telephone number 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 transferred on average. (Though it's worth keeping in mind that in New Jersey, house to betting capital Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).
15. It takes approximately 10 minutes to nab a marriage license at the bureau in downtown this website 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 nation-- combined.
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 proximity of the airport-- just three miles-- it had to be shrunk down. In contrast, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is actually larger than the initial Excellent 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 play ground where construction enthusiasts 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 market it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would wander the Nevada desert.
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. In 2013, one of the area's routine customers passed away ... from an obvious heart attack.
24. From deep 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 attraction that is within Las Vegas city limitations: 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.