Some fun facts about Las Vegas below.

Las Vegas is a city of fun and there are plenty of trivial and important facts to learn about the city.

Las Vegas City Facts

  • State – Nevada
  • Country – United States
  • Dialing Code – 1
  • Area code – 702
  • Electricity – 110v AC, 50 Hz. Standard plugs are round two-pin
  • Time Zine – GMT-8 (daylight savings – GMT-7)
  • Population – City 503,188, Metro 1,485,855
  • Average Winter Temperature – 45-51°F or 7-10°C
  • Average Summer Temperature – 84-91°F or 29-33°C
  • Annual Rainfall – 4.1-inches or 10.4 centimeters
  • Days of Sunshine – 310
  • Area – 85 square miles or 220 square kilometers
  • Elevation – 2178 feet or 664 meters
  • Major Industries – mining, gaming, conventions, tourism, manufacturing of chemicals, gaming equipment, and aerospace products.

Las Vegas Show Facts

  • Cirque du Soleil’s “0” at the Bellagio has a water stage of 1.5 million gallons.
  • More than 300,000 live arrows have been fined during KA performances since 2005.
  • Before a show even begins at the KA theater, 120 fireballs are launched inside.
  • Since it opened in 1999, more than 7,000 Tournament of King’s performances have been given at the Castle and The Excalibur is now the largest purchaser of Cornish Game Hens in the US.
  • During a Tournament of Kings production, 30 horses are rotated.
  • In 2006, the fifth resident show was opened at Cirque du Soleil – “Love” at the Mirage It plays in the theater space of Siegfried & Roy, two long-standing Vegas magicians.

Las Vegas Hotel Facts

  • The first hotel and Casino to open in Vegas was The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, opening its doors in 1906.
  • Las Vegas is home to 17 of the 20 biggest hotels in the world.
  • Las Vegas has more than 150,000 hotel rooms – twice what New York City has.
  • The Mirage Hotel and Casino opening in Vegas in 1989, setting the gold standard for the many mega-resorts on the Strip today. It was the most expensive Hotel casino ever built at the time costing $630 million in construction costs, and features over 3000 rooms and the likes of Siegfried & Roy as headliner acts.
  • On July 1, 2004, The Appian Way opened, a new pedestrian entrance into Caesars Palace.
  • Starting in September 2007 and finishing one year later, a new floor was added to the ARIA every seven days – work that one out!
  • In the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino Complex, there is a wine cellar containing over 50,000 bottles.
  • The Flamingo was named by owner, Bugsy Siegal, after his showgirl girlfriend’s long legs.
  • Inside The Palms, there are two state-of-the-art recording and mixing studio, each with Studer A827 Gold 2” Recorders, extensive Pro Tools HD systems and ATR 102 1”-1/2” Recorder.
  • Excalibur is owned by the same company that owns The Mirage, Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus Park MGM, ARIA, Waldorf Astoria, CityCenter and Vdara.
  • Remember the film, The Hangover? The Caesars Palace Suite used in the film actually doesn’t exist. You can find Room 2452, the suite number used, in Augustus Tower, which is where the hallway and elevator scenes in the film were shot.
  • The Bellagio has 3933 rooms, more than the number of resident in the town of Bellagio in Italy.
  • In the Venetian, there are two canals. One has 278,000 gallons, the other has 536,000 gallons of water.
  • The Excalibur, looking much like a medieval castle on the outside, has 3999 rooms. To live up to the theme inspired by King Arthur, there are quite a few rooms designed for maidens and knights, lots of round tables, and guests are treated to a jousting-tournament feast.
  • One of the best sights to see is the dark pyramid of the Luxor, with a laser beam lighting up the night sky. The hotel opened in 1993 and is the second biggest hotel in Vegas and the US with more than 4400 rooms.
  • The Wynn Las Vegas hotel opened on April 28, 2005, costing $2.7 billion – the most expensive hotel/casino in the world. It also has the tallest tower in the Las Vegas Valley, soaring 45 stories and 514 feet high.
  • The Stratosphere Hotel opened on April 30, 1996. At the time, it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River at 106 stories and 1,149 feet tall. Today, it is the second-tallest west of the river and the tallest observation tower in the US.
  • Until The Mandalay Bay opened on March 2, 1999, it had a working name of Project Paradise.
  • The Sahara Hotel and Casino closed on May 19 2011. From when it opened in 1952 on the Las Vegas Boulevard to the day it closed it was a landmark hotel. It was also the very last place that Abbot and Costello performed together before parting ways.

Las Vegas Strip Facts

  • The Bellagio water fountains, famous the world over, sit in a manmade lake covering 8 acres.
  • The Volcano at The Mirage Hotel circulates 119,000 gallons of water per minute.
  • With its famous fountains, the Bellagio was billed as the most expensive hotel in the entire world when it opened, at a cost of $1.7 billion, in 1998. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay to see the fountains.
  • The replica Statue of Liberty at the New York-New York hotel weighs 150 tons; the real thing weighs 225 tons.
  • The Sphinx at the Luxor stands 101 feet high, taller than the Egyptian original.The replica Arc de Triomphe at Paris Las Vegas is two thirds the size of the original, which was erected as a monument to all those who fought in the Battle of Austerlitz.
  • The bronze lion that stands at the MGM Grand is North America’s largest bronze sculpture, weighing 100,000 lbs.
  • The main tank at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay holds over a million gallons of water.
  • The Statue of St Patrick that stands at Rí Rá, Mandalay Place The Shoppes, weighs 500 lbs.
  • The laser beam on the Luxor hotel is visible from a plane on a clear night for 250 miles.
  • Adventure Dome, Circus Circus Hotel, Casino and Theme park is the largest indoor theme park in the US, spread over 5 acres and with 24 different attractions.
  • The Adventure Dome is enclosed in 8615 panes of pink glass.
  • CityCenter holds the very first permanent art collection integrated into a public area in Las Vegas. It is also home to one of the largest corporate art collections in the world.

Las Vegas History Facts

  • Not many people know that Liberace was a headline act at the Las Vegas Hilton in the 1970s. Twice a night, he drew in sold-out crowds and, in 1972 he signed a contract that earned him $300,000 per week – a record for an individual entertainer in Vegas.
  • The Sands Hotel imploded on November 26, 1996, making way for The Venetian.
  • In 2004, the lights on the Strip were dimmed as a mark of respect to Ronald Regan when he passed. Others to have received this as a remembrance include Dean Martin, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, and President John F Kennedy.

City of Las Vegas Facts

  • McCarran International Airport is the seventh busiest in the US.
  • Las Vegas is one of the brightest cities in the world, boasting millions of lights.
  • In 2018, more than 42 million people visited Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Gaming Facts

  • Gambling became legal in Nevada in 1931 and, ever since then, it has become one of the top places for visitors who want to play the tables or place bets at sportsbooks. In 2006, gaming revenue in Las Vegas, was more than $8 billion, around $200 per visitor!
  • After gambling was legalized in 1931, other US regions started to request that Nevada be stripped of its Statehood – today, 48 States have some form of legalized gambling.
  • 13% of visitors say they go to Vegas for the gambling. The actual percentage of visitors who gamble while they stay in Vegas is 87%.
  • On March 21, 2003, the biggest jackpot ever for a Las Vegas Machine, was paid out on a Megabucks slot machine in the Excalibur Hotel. The jackpot was $39,713,982.25.
  • All the numbers on a roulette table equal 666!

Las Vegas Wedding Facts

  • The average number of weddings every day in Vegas is 315.
  • Weddings are the second biggest industry after gambling. Called the Marriage Capital of the World, it is a popular place for those who want to get married with ease – no waiting period and no blood test required. Whether you are getting married or not, some of the most iconic wedding chapels such as Graceland Wedding Chapel are worth a look.
  • Marriage licenses cost $77 in Nevada

State of Nevada Facts

  • Nevada was granted the status of State on October 31, 1864.
  • The capital of Nevada is Carson City (Not Sin City as many believe!)
  • Nevada is bordered by Utah to the east, California to the west, Arizona to the southwest, and by Oregon and Idaho to the north.
  • It is the seventh-largest State, covering more than 110,000 miles.
  • The word Nevada translates from Spanish to mean “Snow Capped”.
  • Despite that, it is the driest State in the US.

Then and Now – Las Vegas Hotels

  • Boardwalk Hotel and Casino – demolished in 2006, making way for CityCenter.
  • Desert Inn – demolished in 2004, making way for Wynn Las Vegas.
  • The Dunes – demolished in 1993, making way for the Bellagio.
  • El Rancho – demolished in 2000. It was supposed to make way for Fontainebleau but, halfway through construction, bankruptcy was filed for.
  • Hacienda – demolished in 1996, making way for Mandalay Bay.
  • Marina Hotel and Casino made way for MGM Grand.
  • The New Frontier, demolished in 2007 and was supposed to be replaced by the Las Vegas Plaza.
  • Nob Hill Casino – closed 1990, became Casino Royale.
  • Castaways – demolished in 1987, making way for The Mirage.
  • The Sands – demolished in 1996, making way for The Venetian.
  • Stardust Resort and Casino – demolished in 2007, eventually replaced by Resorts World Las Vegas.
  • Tally Ho Hotel – closed 1996. Became the Aladdin which went on to become Planet Hollywood in 2007.
  • Vegas World – demolished 1995, rebuilt as the Stratosphere.
  • Sahara Hotel and Casino – closed after 59 years in 2011.
  • Las Vegas Hilton – name changed to LVH – Las Vegas Hotel and Casino – in 2012.