Important Las Vegas Fun Facts

Las Vegas State: Nevada

Country: United States

Country dialing code: 1

Area code: 702

Electricity: 110 volts AC, 50Hz; round two-pin plugs are standard.

Time zone: GMT -8 (GMT -7 during daylight savings)

Population: 503,188 (city); 1,485,855 (metro area)

Average winter temperature: 45-51°F / 7-10.5°C

Average summer temperature: 84-91°F / 29-33°C

Annual rainfall: 4.1 inches / 10.4 centimeters

Days of sunshine: 310

Area: 85 square miles / 220 square kilometers

Elevation: 2178 feet / 664 meters

Average number of conventions per year: 4.000

Major industries: Mining, manufacturing (gaming equipment, chemicals, aerospace products), gaming, conventions and tourism

Check out some of the little known facts below for an entirely new perspective on the city of Las Vegas.

Bellagio's Cirque du Soleils "O" has a 1.5 million gallon stage of water.

The number of live arrows fired during KA performances since 2005 is over 300,000

120 fireballs are launched inside the KÀ Theatre before the show even begins.

Since opening in 1999, Tournament of Kings has given more than 7,000 performances at the Castle and has made The Excalibur the No. 1 purchaser of Cornish Game Hens in the United States.

The Tournament of Kings rotate 30 horses in the production.

In 2006 Cirque du Soleil opened its fifth resident show, ' Love' at The Mirage, playing in the theater space of the long-time Las Vegas magicians, Siegfried & Roy.

More fun facts about "O" by Cirque du Soleil

More fun facts about "KA" by Cirque du Soleil

The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino opened in 1906, making it the first hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

17 of the 20 biggest hotels in the world are in Las Vegas. The city contains over 150,000 hotel rooms. New York City has only half that number.

In 1989 The Mirage Hotel & Casino Resort opened in Las Vegas and set the standard for the mega resorts that line the Strip today. When it opened, the Mirage was the most expensive hotel casino ever built, with construction costs of $630 million. It featured more than 3,000 rooms and headliner attractions such as Siegfried and Roy's magic show.

Known as the "The Appian Way", a new pedestrian entrance to Caesars Palace, opened July 1, 2004.

Construction workers added one floor to ARIA every seven days from September 2007 to the topping out in September 2008.

Did you know that the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino complex includes a wine cellar that has more than 50,000 bottles.

Bugsy Siegel named his casino the Flamingo after the long legs of his showgirl girlfriend.

Did you know that The Palms has two state-of-the-art music recording and mixing studios with extensive Pro Tools HD systems and Studer A827 Gold 2" Recorders and ATR 102 1" - 1/2" Recorder.

The company that owns the Excalibur also owns The Mirage, New York New York, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Circus Circus, Aria, Vdara, Waldorf Astoria and CityCenter

The actual Caesars Palace suite used in the Hangover does not exist, but you can find the fictitious suite's room number 2452, in the Augustus Tower, where all the movie's elevator and hallway scenes were shot!

With 3,933 rooms, the Bellagio has more rooms than the number of residents in Bellagio, Italy.

The Venetian has 2 Canals, one at 536,000 gallons and another at 278,000 gallons.

With its medieval-castle exterior, the Excalibur houses 3,999 rooms. Living up to its Arthurian-inspired theme, the resort offers plenty of rooms for numerous knights and maidens, as well as multiple round tables and even treats guests to a jousting-tournament feast.

The hulk of the Luxor’s dark pyramid and its spectacular laser beam that lights the Vegas night sky is a sight to see from air or ground. This 4,400-plus room hotel, which opened in 1993, is the second-largest hotel in Vegas and the United States.

When it opened April 28, 2005, at $2.7 billion, Wynn Las Vegas became the most expensive hotel and casino in the world.

Wynn Las Vegas has the tallest tower in the valley - 514 feet and 45 stories.

When it opened on April 30, 1996 the STRAT Hotel Casino and SkyPod at 1,149 feet and 106-story high became the tallest structure west of Mississippi River at the time. Today, the STRAT Hotel Casino and SkyPod is the tallest observation tower in the United States and the second tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi.

The working name for Mandalay Bay was Project Paradise until it opened on March 2, 1999

Closed May 19, 2011, the Sahara Hotel and Casino was a landmark Las Vegas property having opened in 1952 on the Las Vegas Blvd..

The Sahara Hotel & Casino was also the last place Abbott and Costello appeared together before the comedy duo parted ways for good.

The World famous water fountains at the Bellagio sit in a 8 acre man made lake.

The Volcano at the Mirage circulates 119,000 gallons of water per minute.

With its famous dancing Fountains of Bellagio, this luxurious resort was billed as the most expensive hotel in the world when it opened in 1998, at a cost of $1.7 billion. Fortunately, the fountains are free to all who care to admire them.

The Statue of Liberty at New York-New York Las Vegas weighs 150 tons. It's New York City counterpart weighs 225 tons.

The Luxor's Sphinx is 101 ft. high, making it taller than the original in Egypt.

Paris Las Vegas’ Arc de Triomphe is a two-thirds replica of the original, which opened in 1805 as a monument to the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Austerlitz

The bronze Lion at MGM Grand (on Las Vegas Blvd & Tropicana Ave) weighs 100,000 lbs, making it the largest bronze sculpture in North America.

The main tank at Mandalay Bays Shark reef holds more than 1 million gallons.

Do you know that the statue of St. Patrick at Rí Rá at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place weigh 500lbs.

The distance from which the Luxor Sky Beam is visible from an airplane on a clear night is 250 miles.

Adventuredome at Circus Circus Hotel, Casino & Theme Park is America's largest indoor theme park with 24 attractions spread over five acres.

There are 8,615 panes of pink glass that fully enclose the Adventure Dome

CityCenter is home to the first major permanent collection of art in Las Vegas to be integrated into a public space, and one of the world's largest and most ambitious corporate art collections in existence today.

Did you know that Liberace headlined at the Las Vegas Hilton during the 1970's drawing sold-out crowds twice per night. When he signed his contract in 1972 he earned $300,000 per week, a record amount for individual entertainers in Las Vegas.

On November 26, 1996 Sands Hotel imploded to make way for The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

In 2004 the Vegas Strip dimmed its lights for President Ronald Reagan's passing. Other dignitaries to receive such a remembrance upon their passing have included President John F. Kennedy; Rat Pack members Sammy Davis, Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin; and George Burns.

Harry Reid International Airport is the seventh busiest airport in the United States.

With it's millions of lights, Las Vegas is one of the brightest cities on earth.

More then 36 million people visited Las Vegas in 2009

Ever since gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, visitors have flocked to area casinos to play at the tables and place bets at sports books. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’ Authority, in 2006, Las Vegas’ gaming revenue soared to $8.2 billion more than $200 for each of the nearly 39 million tourists who came to play in this desert oasis that year.

The legalization of gambling in 1931 encouraged other regions of the U.S to request the recall of Nevada's statehood. Today, there are forms of legalized gambling in 48 out of the 50 states.

The percentage of visitors who say they come to Las Vegas to gamble is 13 percent. The percentage of visitors who end up gambling during their stay is 87 percent.

The largest Las Vegas slot machine jackpot ever, was paid on a Megabucks machine at the Excalibur Hotel, for $39,713,982.25 on March 21, 2003.

Do you know that all the numbers on a roulette table add up to 666. How freaky is that!

Average number of Vegas weddings per day 315.

Although gambling is No. 1, weddings are the second-largest industry in Nevada. Known as the Marriage Capital of the World, Vegas has long been a destination for those looking to tie the knot quickly and with ease (neither a blood test nor a waiting period is required). Iconic spots such as the drive-through altar at the Little White Wedding Chapel and the Graceland Wedding Chapel are must-sees on the Vegas map, whether or not vows are in your plans.

A marriage license costs $60 in Nevada. Many couples choose to marry in Nevada because there is no blood test or waiting period.

Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Nevada became a state on October 31, 1864 (Happy Halloween)

Nevada's state capital is Carson City and not Sin City

Nevada is bordered on the north by Oregon and Idaho. On the west and southwest by California and Arizona. On the east by Utah.

With an area covering 110,540 square mies, Nevada is the seventh largest state in the nation.

The word Nevada actually means "Snow Capped" in spanish

Despite it's spanish translation, Nevada is the driest state in the U.S. with an average precipitation of about seven inches annually.