Search img
0203 816 0985img
We're open Monday at 9am
img
img
Top Holidays

33 things we bet you didn't know about Las Vegas

  • Inspiration
  • By Lauren Godfrey
  • Published 22 January 2018
  • Revised 12 September 2022
  • Published 22 January 2018
  • Revised 12 September 2022


1. Six of the top 10 largest hotels (by number of rooms) in the world are found in Las Vegas. The Venetian takes number two while MGM Grand stands proud at number three and The Wynn and Encore are currently clocking in at number seven.

2. The Las Vegas Strip is the brightest place on Earth when looked at from space.

3. More than 85 films have been set in Las Vegas since 1952.

4. The Las Vegas Strip is 4.2 miles long. That’s 61,597 football fields!

5. Las Vegas has a ‘black book’ that is a list of people banned from entering any casino in the city.

6. The first Las Vegas casino to be built on the ‘strip’ was El Rancho Vegas which opened on 3rd April 1941. The casino was destroyed in a fire after almost 20 years in 1960.

7. The Luxor hotel’s recreation of the Great Sphinx of Giza stands at 101 feet tall, which is larger than the original.

8. There’s around one operating slot machine for every eight residents of Las Vegas.
 

9. On average, there are more than 300 weddings per day in Las Vegas.

10. Part of the Las Vegas strip is not actually in the city. Part of the party road falls into the neighbouring town of Paradise… how ironic.

11. According to LVCA Clark County Lodging Inventory Summary (June 2017) there are 132,162 rooms in 162 hotels. That means that to stay in every single hotel room, you’d have to stay in Las Vegas for 362 years, staying in a different room every night. 

12. The Luxor Light Beam is arguably the brightest beam on Earth and is said to be visible from as far as 100 miles away.

13. An estimated 1,000 people live in Las Vegas’ underground labyrinth of tunnels

14. At 1,149 feet, the Stratosphere is the tallest observation tower in the US. 

15. The vision of Las Vegas was crafter by mobster Bugsy Siegel who opened the Flamingo in 1946. Throughout the 50s and 60s other mobsters, backed by respectable investors such as Wall Street banks, helped build ‘the strip’ with hotels such as The Sahara, The Sands, The New Frontier and The Riviera. Tourists flocked to the city of sin, lured in by performances from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley.

16. More than 42 million people visit Las Vegas each year. 

17. Las Vegas for born out of America’s railway boom however you cannot reach Las Vegas by train.

18. In 2004, a British man risked it all on roulette… and won. Ashley Revell sold everything he owned and bet $135,300 on red, and walked away with $270,600 when the ball landed on red seven. He immediately tipped the dealer $600 before making a swift exit.

19. More than 22,000 conventions are held in Las Vegas every year.

20. Las Vegas casinos do not have any clocks or windows to help visitors lose track of time. 

21. Despite legalising gambling in the thirties, the sale of lottery tickets is still prohibited in the state of Nevada.
 

22. In the 1950s, Las Vegas visitors could watch atomic bomb tests in the desert.

23. Michael Jackson planned to build a 50-foot robot replica of himself to moon walk across the Vegas dessert as well as a hotel in 2007 to promote his residency.

24. McCarran International Airport is the eighth busiest airport in the United States and North America.

25. Las Vegas is home to the world’s tallest ferris wheel which stands at 550 feet tall however once the Dubai Eye opens it will soon drop to the second largest in the world.

26. The Lion outside if the MGM Grand tips the scales at 50 tonnes.

27. Denny’s on Fremont Street offers a Wedding Package that costs a mere $199. This includes the use of the chapel, a wedding officiant, use of the photo booth, a silk bouquet and boutonniere (in a selection of four colours), a pancake wedding cake, champagne toast, two wedding T-shirts and two breakfasts. 

28. Girard B Henderson, was so concerned by the effects of the Cold War that he built his own luxurious shelter 26-feet under his Las Vegas home The over-the-top bunker comprises a swimming pool, a sauna, a garden with fountains and waterfalls, a mini-golf course and a barbeque as well as a two-storey suburban house decked in typical 60s décor. The businessman lived in his underground house until his death in 1983. 

29. Slot machines apparently take in more than 60 percent of a casino’s earnings even though video slot machines are required to pay out at least 75 percent on average.

30. Liberace was rumoured to be earning $300,000 a week for his residency in Las Vegas Hilton during the 1970s and 1980s.

31. There are more than 15,000 miles of neon tubing in the city.

32. Founder and CEO of FedEx, Frederick W Smith, saved his company by gambling in Las Vegas. In 1971 he took FedEx’s last $5,000 to Sin City and turned it into $27,000 while gambling on blackjack – just enough for the company to stay in operation for another week.

33. The Luxor’s electricity bill is more than $50 per hour.

Enjoyed This Article?
Now choose what happens next...
1 Looking to Book a Holiday?

This button will take you to a short form where we'll ask about your destination and preferences. If you don't like filling in forms simply give us a call on 0203 816 0985 and we'll be happy to help you.

Let's Plan Your Trip
2Receive Our Exclusive Offers

Join our email to receive exclusive offers and airline sales direct to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime (but why would you want to?)

Get in touch with our team of personal travel managers to start planning your trip
img
  • The human touch
  • Complete concierge service
  • 24/7 out of hours contact