Las Vegas Fun Facts

Here are a couple facts about Las Vegas we thought you might find interesting:

• The Eiffel Tower at Paris is half the size of the original.
• Though the spouting fountains and water shows of the big resorts may seem a waste of water, the hotel-casinos comprise only 7% of total water usage for the valley. The biggest use goes to keeping residential lawns green.
• Bugsy Siegel named his casino the Flamingo after the long legs of his showgirl girlfriend.
• In Nevada it is mandatory that video slot machines pay a minimum of 75 percent on average.
• Vegas Vic, the enormous neon cowboy that towers over Fremont Street, is the world's largest mechanical neon sign.
• Howard Hughes stayed at the Desert Inn for so long that he was asked to leave. He bought the hotel.
• Camels were used as pack animals in Nevada as late as 1870.
• Over 37 million people visit Las Vegas each year.
• Seventeen of the 20 biggest hotels in the world are in Las Vegas.
• Mandalay Bay's wave pool can generate waves six feet high.
• 35.5 million visitors went to Las Vegas in 2003. They will spend a total of $32.8 billion. Of those visitors, 18% are in Las Vegas for the first time. They stay an average of 3.4 nights and have an average gaming budget of $480. They will pay an average of $83 a night for their hotel room.
• On average, 150 couples get married in Las Vegas each day.
• The first major resort built on the Las Vegas Strip was the El Rancho in 1947. It had 63 rooms.
• The original El Rancho, the first hotel/casino on the Strip, began the buffet in the 1940's. Owner Ben Katleman needed a way to keep patrons on property after the late show ended. His "Midnight Chuckwagon Buffet" could be had for only $1.
• Mormons first settled Las Vegas in the 1850's.
• The beam of light atop the Luxor Hotel is the most powerful in the world at 40 billion candle power. It is visible to aircraft 250 miles away.
• "Sin City" has more than 500 churches and synagogues, representing more than 40 faiths.
• A 22-symbol, three-reel slot machine has 10,648 possible combinations of symbols.
• Combining the Strip and downtown, there are more than 15,000 miles of lighted neon tubing.
• Treasure Island's pirate show (Sirens of TI) uses two ships, but only The Britannia (a replica of an 18th-century Royal Naval ship) moves. The Hispanola was built in three sections and assembled on a concrete block. It weighs 48,500 lbs.