Las Vegas Fun Facts and Trivia That May Surprise You

Before a trip to Las Vegas, you may be curious about the city, the people who live there, and the many visitors who flock there for a good time and a chance to take home some cash. Las Vegas is a city with a lot of interesting trivia. Some of it may come in handy during a trivia game one day, some of it falls into the category of useless, but fun, and some you might just find good to know when you visit.

City Facts

We all think we know about Las Vegas. It's a glitzy "sin city" in the middle of the Nevada desert, right? But Las Vegas is a significant place with its own history and a unique personality.

• The oldest hotel in Las Vegas is the Golden Gate Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas, which opened in 1906.
• The first casino in Las Vegas received its gambling license in 1931.
• The first Jerry Lewis/Muscular Dystrophy Telethon ever was broadcast from Las Vegas on Labor Day September 6, 1971.
• Las Vegas is home to 34 local golf courses.
• There are an average 315 weddings per day in Las Vegas.
• The average household in Las Vegas uses 222 gallons of water per household.

Casino Facts

Whether you have $20 to spend or $200,000, you'll probably succumb to a casino visit during your Las Vegas stay.

• The first casino in Las Vegas was licensed in 1931.
• The largest and most profitable casino is Las Vegas is the Wynn.
• The current number of licensed gambling places in Las Vegas 1,701.
• There are close to 200,000 slot machines in Las Vegas
• The average visitor's gambling budget is $541 per trip.

The Strip Facts

The Las Vegas Strip, actually Las Vegas Boulevard, is where you'll find most of the iconic hotels and tourist attractions, but it wasn't always the center of everything glitzy.

• The Strip may be the most iconic part of Las Vegas is not actually in Las Vegas, but it's technically located in in Paradise, Nevada. Las Vegas is home to downtown Las Vegas and a tiny piece of the Las Vegas Strip.
• The Flamingo, built in the 1940s, was the anchor for the famous row of casinos on the Strip.
• There are 15,000 miles of neon tubing on the strip and throughout downtown Las Vegas.
• The official name of the Strip is Las Vegas Boulevard, but it used to be called the Arrowhead Highway, and then, the Sunset Strip.

Hotel Facts

Hotels in Las Vegas are always getting bigger and more lavish. In the mid-1970s Las Vegas had about 35,000 rooms, but at the last count there were almost 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas.

• The Bellagio chocolate fountain is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest chocolate fountain in the world, at over 27 feet tall.
• The average rate for a room in Las Vegas is $150 per night.
• The Riviera Hotel stood for 60 years before it was imploded in 2016.
• The bronze lion outside of the MGM Grand Hotel weighs 45 tons or 90,000 pounds.

Money Facts

Gambling is big money in Las Vegas and the state of Nevada, but not everyone is involved in the gambling industry. The cost of living in the area is close to the national average and according to Zillow, Las Vegas home values have gone up 15.9% over the past year.

• In 2018, Nevada's gaming revenue was $11.9 billion dollars.
• 43 percent of Nevada's general fund is fed by gaming revenue.
• The average monthly rent for an apartment in Las Vegas is $850.
• The median home value in Las Vegas is $274,300.

Vegas Visitors

With over 39 million visitors per year, it's interesting to see how that number breaks down.

• 46 percent of visitors arrive by air, while 54 percent arrive via ground transportation.
• 26 percent of visitors are from Southern California.
• 16 percent of visitors are from other countries.
• 87 percent of visitors end up gambling during their stay.
• Visitors spend an average of 3.9 hours a day gambling.
• The average visitors stays for 3.5 nights.
• The average age of visitors is 44.3 years old.
• 38 percent of visitors are millennials.
• 8 percent of visitors travel with someone under the age of 21.