Interesting Facts About Las Vegas

The city of Vegas is more than 100 years old!

When you think of gambling, casinos, luxury hotels, and exciting nightlife, the only place that comes to mind is LAS VEGAS! If you are a night person, and love living a good life, Las Vegas will blow your mind and win you over in no time. Situated in Clark County, Vegas is the most populated city in Nevada, and the 31^st most populous city in the U.S.

There are many forms of entertainment in the city; most of them adult entertainment, earning Vegas the sobriquet of Sin City.

The city of Las Vegas has attracted lot of people for a lot of years. Presented below are 50 of the many, many interesting facts about the city that continues to hold our attention and fascinate us.

✤ Anywhere around 60,000 - 80,000 people move to Las Vegas every year.

✤ The median home price in 2011 according to Forbes was $124,800. The median cost of a 1 bedroom apartment in the City Center is $650.

✤ An acre of land on the Las Vegas Strip costs about 15-20 million dollars.

✤ The state of Nevada charges no personal income tax or corporate income tax. Can you image how businesses run in Las Vegas?
✤ Out of its total area of 135.86 sq mi, only 0.05 sq mi (0.03%) is water.
✤ Contrary to popular belief, prostitution is NOT legal in Vegas.

✤ Las Vegas has 6 sister cities: Ansan (South Korea), Jeju City (South Korea), Huludao (China), Phuket (Thailand), Angeles City (Philippines), and Pamukkale (Turkey).

✤ The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino that opened in 1906, is the first hotel and casino to open in Las Vegas.

✤ The opening of El Rancho in 1941 marked the opening of the first resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
✤ The Pair-o-Dice Club was the first casino to be built on Highway 91. However, the first casino on what is now the Las Vegas Strip, was the El Rancho Vegas.
✤ The Las Vegas Strip witnessed its first topless show in the year 1957.

✤ The Dunes Hotel was the first hotel and casino to feature topless showgirls.
✤ The Moulin Rouge, opened in 1955, became Las Vegas' first racially integrated hotel.
✤ In 1971, the Silver Slipper became the first casino in Vegas to employ female card dealers.

If you are single and ready to mingle, here are some facts about Las Vegas that will make you want to book a ticket pronto!

✤ Las Vegas is known as the marriage capital of the world.
✤ Not only does Las Vegas have the most number of marriages, but also has a great variety in them.

✤ A marriage license costs only $60 in Las Vegas. The procedure is pretty simple too. You fill out a form, produce a copy of a government-issued photo ID, pay $60, and you are done. The marriage license will be in your hand in less than a couple of hours.
✤ Divorce in Las Vegas is prety inexpensive too, making it one of the cities with the highest divorce rates.

✤ There are more than 16 wedding chapels in Las Vegas.
✤ On an average, around 10,000 people get married in Las Vegas every month.
✤ You actually have drive-in wedding chapels in Las Vegas, like you have drive-in movie theaters all over the U.S.

Here are some interesting facts about Las Vegas with respect to gambling.

✤ In 2012, only 8% of all visitors said they came to Las Vegas with the intention of gambling. On the contrary, 72% gambled on their visit.

✤ Such is the temptation of these casinos, that 17% of tourists that came to Las Vegas are from outside the U.S.
✤ Also, the downtown area provides employment for more than a 1,000 people.

✤ There is one slot machine for every 8 residents in Nevada; in all, there are over 200,000 slot machines in Las Vegas!
✤ As of now, the downtown area has 16 nonrestricted gaming locations. Together, these earn more than $1 million annually, only in gaming revenue.

✤ The Last Vegas Strip made $6.2 billion last year in gaming revenue; Clark County made $9.4 billion.
✤ For those who gambled, the average trip cost was $484.70.

✤ Most casinos are located in the downtown area. This area has successfully attracted tourists since decades.
✤ In March 2003, the largest jackpot in the world was won by a woman at the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas. Want to know the jackpot amount? $39.7 million!

✤ Approximately 40 million people visit Las Vegas every year; 39,727,022 people came to Las Vegas last year.
✤ 11% of tourists are aged less than 21 years; the average age of tourists is 45.
✤ If all the neon tubing in Las Vegas were straightened out, it would cover a distance of around 15,000 miles.

✤ From space, Las Vegas appears as one of the brightest cities on Earth.
✤ The average time tourists spend in the city is 3.3 nights.
✤ The famous 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign was created by Betty Willis in May 1959.
✤ The gigantic neon cowboy on Fremont Street known as Vegas Vic, was also erected in 1959. At the time of its installation, it was the largest mechanical neon sign in the world.

While some carry a history of decades, others are wonders born from contemporary ideas.

✤ Of the 20 largest hotels in the world, 12 are in Las Vegas!
✤ Similarly, if you consider the 5 biggest hotels in America, you will find 4 in Sin City.

✤ Las Vegas has an astonishing 150,481 hotel rooms. If a person decided to spend one night in each hotel room, it would take him/her well over 400 years.
✤ More than 60,000 pounds of shrimp are consumed in Las Vegas every year - that is more than the rest of U.S. put together. This is due to a popular shrimp cocktail served in most hotels in Las Vegas.

✤ The MGM Grand is the largest hotel resort complex in the U.S. Also, by number of rooms, it is the 2nd largest hotel globally.

✤ With cost of construction totaling $630 million, The Mirage was the most expensive hotel-casino in history. It raised the bar for subsequent hotels to be opened in Las Vegas. The main attraction of The Mirage is the artificial volcano.
✤ The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino complex has a huge wine cellar. Just how huge? Well, it hosts no less than 50,000 wine bottles.

✤ Designed by Veldon Simpson and Charles Silverman, The Luxor Las Vegas is the eighth-largest hotel in the world. The peak of the pyramid hosts a fixed position beam of light that is the brightest beam in the world.

✤ The Bellagio Hotel of Las Vegas has more number of rooms than the number of people residing in Bellagio, Italy. It is also famous for its spectacular musical fountains and the 8-acre lake. It has won the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award 12 times!

✤ The largest structure at CityCenter, Aria Resort & Casino has a whooping 61 floors! In a particular magazine, it was called 'the most technologically advanced hotel ever built'. While it was being built, construction workers added one new floor to the building hotel every single week!

✤ The 9th tallest freestanding structure in the U.S., The Stratosphere hosts the highest thrill ride globally; it is called Big Shot (329 m).

✤ The Flamingo Casino started by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was named by him after his showgirl girlfriend who had beautiful long legs. It was the 3rd resort to open on the Strip.

Las Vegas has always been a dream destination for many travelers. The city truly does enchant everyone and these interesting facts are just proof of this reality. So, when are you planning your trip to the city of all sins?