What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely haven't 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 famed "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated town called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One destination that is within Las Vegas city limitations: Vegas Vic, the oversized neon cowboy that commands downtown's famous 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 advantage the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.
5. There's a lot genuine estate for travelers to make the most of, it would take an individual 288 years to invest a night in every hotel room in the city.
6. There's a secret city underneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- originally developed to secure the desert town from flash floods-- home hundreds of homeless locals.
7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino got its name from creator-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Actress Virginia Hill went by the nickname "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 casinos and hotels. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and exit the venues in which they were carrying out through back entrances and side entranceways. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only swimming pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino. Afterwards, the manager had it drained pipes.
9. In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's very first interracial gambling establishment. Famous fighter 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 kind of program. At the Nevada Test Website, simply 65 miles northwest of the city, the United States Department of Energy would test nuclear devices. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars promoting detonation times and option watching areas.
11. Legendary 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 booking. Rather, he began settlements to purchase the 715-room area. His purchase was total 3 months later.
12. FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith saved the delivery business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- 3 years after he produced the business-- the Yale grad took the venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack. His, er, gamble gave the company enough money to survive.
13. Do not disrupt: Vegas has more unlisted contact number than 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, home to gambling 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. up until midnight. Not surprising that some 10,000 couples wed in the city monthly.
16. Let them eat ... shrimp cocktails? 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, situated outside Paris Las Vegas, was initially 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 in fact bigger than the initial Terrific Sphinx of Giza.
18. At 50 lots, 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 this page 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 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 prepared to promote 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 clients can buy an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass hamburger with a side of flatliner french fries. In 2013, one of the area's regular patrons passed away ... from an apparent heart attack.
24. From deep space, the Las Vegas Strip looks like the brightest area on Earth. Who cares if it's not really in Las Vegas?
Most of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A good part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Invite 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 presides 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 tasks-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments.