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      Interesting Tidbits   Las Vegas facts you might not know

84.4% of Nevada's land is owned by the federal government - more than any other state.
 

Nevada is one of seven states in the USA that does not have state income tax. The others are Alaska, Florida, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.  New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income.
 

You may have noticed the coconut aroma that permeates the air in the Mirage and Mandalay Bay, or the old-lady perfume smell in the Palms.  When asked if they pump this scent through the air system, the answer from the employees is always "no". Well, a little research has revealed that they are lying to us. Aroma Systems Inc. manufactures the devices that do just that. And they list these and other Vegas resorts as their clients. Visit their website and see for yourself.
 

In the Chinese culture, the number four is considered bad luck. High-rolling whales from China are very important to the gambling industry in Vegas. With this in mind, Wynn Las Vegas and Rio have no tower floors that start with four. The elevators count 38, 39, 50, 51 etc.
 

The Dunes main tower, its casino and most of its restaurants, clubs, and theaters all fit where the Bellagio's lake now sits. See a composite photo here showing this and the massive size difference between the Dunes and Bellagio towers.

The Bellagio tower is not as symmetrical as it looks.  See why here

When the Stratosphere tower was under construction, somebody in charge thought they had made a rather large error as the curvature of the north east leg appeared to be wrong.  They compensated for the error and continued pouring concrete (altering the original curve) until they realized there never was a problem.  Now the incorrectly corrected leg was going too straight.  Another adjustment was made to get it back into alignment.  This is easily visible today. See photos here
 

Implosions  There have been 14 implosions in Las Vegas since 1993. Click here to see them.

Many Visitors:  Las Vegas' McCarran International has become the nation's fifth-busiest passenger
airport in 2005 with  44,280,190 passengers.
 

Haunted Vegas    There are several supposedly haunted hotels in Las Vegas, here are a few :

1.  The Luxor     Sightings of a ghost have been seen roaming the long room hallways that encircle the pyramid. Three men lost their lives during construction of the pyramid tower. Others say the place is cursed and will remain so until the image of an eye is installed at the pinnacle of the tower, outside.   

2. The Flamingo     Some say they see Bugsy Siegel's ghost wandering the gardens near the site of his (long ago demolished) suite, when the shadows grow long, before sunset. Bugsy was killed in LA,  but some believe that spirits return to places they love.

3.  Bally's      During the fire of 1980 (when Bally's was the MGM Grand), 84 people lost their lives. There have been many reports of sightings in the older buildings of this hotel.

4.  Las Vegas Hilton     The ghost of Elvis has been seen lurking back stage in the showroom where he performed

5.  Bellagio     Actor Justin Pierce committed suicide in 2000, by hanging himself in one of the Bellagio's rooms.

6.  Hard Rock     Legendary bassist for the Who, John Entwistle died there in 2002

7.  Stratosphere      Between the years of 2000 and 2007, (despite alarms, fences, and security personnel),  five people have jumped to their deaths from the tower's observation deck, more than 1,000-feet tall. One such man was a 27-year-old man from Bristol, England who took his last big step on 2/3/2006.
 

Luxor River     When the Luxor hotel opened in 1993, there was a river that encircled the casino level and was intended to ferry guests to the elevators. But when people complained about the 90-minute wait, the Luxor decided to let guests walk to the elevators and promote the ride as the Nile River Adventure. The 15-minute guided barge tour drifted past the Valley of the Queens, King Ramses temple, and other Egyptian-style art.  The river was removed as part of a major interior remodeling in 1995.
 

The movie "Casino",  is based on the history of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal of the Stardust. In the movie the Riviera was used for the interior shots and the Landmark's porte-cochere was used for the exterior shots.

Frank Rosenthal was played by Robert De Niro and his name was changed to Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the film. Frank Rosenthal died on 10/14/08 and until then, he maintained a website where he answered readers questions. Visit it here

The house used in the movie is located in the Las Vegas Country Club (behind the Hilton). Franks actual house is in the same neighborhood.
 

Population 1.7 million in the Las Vegas Metro area: (estimated 2004)

550,000       Las Vegas
170,000       North Las Vegas   
240,000       Henderson                 
740,000       Clark County governed areas

See these areas on THE Area Map
 

Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas or Clark County    Don't listen to your pals,  or anyone else who would like to convince you otherwise. Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas or any other part of Clark County. However, prostitution is legal in Pahrump, Nevada., (part of neighboring Nye County, about 45 minutes away). Different county, different laws. This is visible on THE Regional Map

The Strip is not in Las Vegas, but rather on unincorporated land governed by Clark County. Las Vegas city limits start at Sahara Ave (northward),  So, many visitors of Las Vegas have never been to Las Vegas (unless they visited the Stratosphere). You can see the city boundaries on THE Map and even better on THE Area Map.
 

The Rise and Fall and Rise of an Icon     From the Desert Inn's beginnings through its many expansions to its demise to make room for Wynn Las Vegas. This progression is noteworthy. Click here to view it.

The Marina Hotel was Absorbed by the MGM Grand, not Imploded    The original rooms building of the Marina Hotel and Casino still exists, hiding under a sheath of emerald glass. Click here to see where it is.

How to Build a Mountain      The Mountain in front of Wynn Las Vegas is pretty much...well, a mountain. Looking at  the early stage construction photos, it's made of rebar cages filled with rocks and dirt. This will allow the trees to take root properly. These cages surround three huge silos  which house the plumbing and electrics for all the special effects. Click here to view the progression.

Window Eye Trick      The Bellagio, Caesars Augustus tower and Treasure Island all have an architectural feature designed to trick the eye into seeing the buildings as smaller (thus closer) than they really are. Each window covers four rooms on two floors. Wynn Las Vegas uses the same trick, in that there are two floors between each white stripe. Click here to see some examples.

The Caesars Palace Progression     Caesars Palace has completely reinvented itself without imploding any buildings. Click here to view the progression.

Fake Rivets      The original Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 and is made of wrought iron pieces which are fastened together with 2,500,000 rivets. The tower in Vegas is made from welded steel and is stronger structurally and has "fake rivets" to duplicate the look of the original.
 

Grey Water       Las Vegas is currently in the middle of a drought, yet there are seemingly wasteful water features like fountains, waterfalls, the four acre lake at Wynn Las Vegas and the ten acre, 27 million gallon lake and Fountains of Bellagio. Well, fret not, as the water used in these water features is "grey-water". Grey-water is the reclaimed water from the sinks, bathtubs and showers of the hotel which is then filtered, cleaned and chlorinated. OK, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is NO, not the toilets, that's called black-water. The black-water drains through a separate system to the city's sewers.
 

Stay Healthy       Although this is not a Vegas tourist site, I suspect many of my readers do travel to Vegas now and then and have experienced the "after Vegas trip cold". Once I started my simple regime, I've never had "the cold" again. Click Here to learn the secrets.