Las Vegas…Did You Know?
• "Las Vegas" means "the Meadows" in Spanish.
• The first hotel and casino to open in Las Vegas was the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino in 1906.
• Gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931.
• The El Rancho, Las Vegas' first hotel on the strip, opened on April 3, 1941.
• Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. It took a total of 21,000 workers five years to complete the structure.
• The Moulin Rouge, the city’s first racially integrated hotel, opened in 1955.
• Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes took up residence on the top two floors of the Desert Inn in 1966. When he was asked to give up the rooms to high rollers, he bought the hotel. It was imploded on October 23, 2001, to make room for the Wynn Las Vegas.
• Elvis and Priscilla Presley were married at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967.
• The longest running Las Vegas topless review show is Folies Bergere.
• The city of Las Vegas celebrated its 100th birthday on May 15, 2005.
• The Venetian sits on the former site of the Sands, home of the legendary Rat Pack.
• The Stratosphere Hotel and Tower, at more than 1,100 feet, is the tallest building west of the Mississippi and the fifth tallest building in the United States.
• The Luxor Las Vegas is the fourth biggest pyramid in the world. It features the world's brightest light and a 10-story Sphinx.
• The Venetian has two canals, one of 536,000 gallons and another of 278,000 gallons.
• The Volcano at the Mirage circulates 119,000 gallons of water per minute.
• The Bellagio lake is eight acres. It features 1200 fountains that perform a choreographed water show every half hour during the day and every 15 minutes in the evening.
• In the film National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, the Griswold family stayed at the Mirage.
• As seen from space, the Las Vegas metropolitan area is the brightest spot on Earth.
• Movie shot in Las Vegas include Oceans 11, Viva Las Vegas, Diamonds are Forever, Casino, Leaving Las Vegas, Showgirls, Vegas Vacation, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Rainman, and 21.
Sources
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
US Geological Survey
