11 Facts about the Las Vegas Strip That Most Tourists Have No Idea About

Trippy Facts About the Strip

There’s more to the Strip than losing money and seeing Carrot Top. Like how most casinos pump custom scents through their ventilation systems, or how there’s an official anti-pigeon falcon squad.

Let’s talk about the Las Vegas Strip facts that don’t make it onto the postcards.

The Neon Boneyard Is Where Vegas Signs Go to Die

North of the Strip sits a weird retirement home for Vegas icons – the Neon Museum’s Boneyard with over 250 historic signs dating back to the 1930s.

The massive Stardust sign alone stands three stories tall and weighs several tons.

The museum’s visitor center is actually the old La Concha Motel lobby from 1961, which they saved from demolition and moved here. Around 200,000 people visit yearly, but they have to turn away another 30,000 because tours sell out fast.

By 2027, they’re moving to bigger digs in the Arts District with a $45 million expansion that’ll let them display way more of their collection.

Vegas Once Threw Parties to Watch Atomic Bombs Explode

In the 1950s, Vegas turned nuclear apocalypse into a tourist attraction.

The Chamber of Commerce handed out calendars with bomb viewing times and the best spots to watch mushroom clouds rise from the Nevada Test Site.

Casinos hosted ‘dawn bomb parties’ with special ‘Atomic Cocktails’ while guests watched nuclear explosions at sunrise from hotel rooftops. Between 1951 and 1963, they detonated 235 bombs.That’s one every three weeks for 12 years.

The explosions were so intense people could see them from Montana, 800 miles away. The party ended in 1963 when treaties banned above-ground testing.

But for a while, Vegas made atomic annihilation fun.

The Air in Casinos Is Scientifically Designed to Make You Spend More

Casinos aren’t pumping oxygen into the air (that’s a myth from a 1978 novel), but they’re definitely messing with your brain through scent. A researcher named Dr. Alan Hirsch found that scented casino areas saw 45% more gambling than unscented ones.

Each major casino has its own signature smell – the Bellagio uses ‘Blue Ice’ while Mandalay Bay pumps ‘Coconut Spice’ through their vents. They also keep temperatures at exactly 73°F, which research shows is the perfect temperature to make you relax and spend more money.

The entire sensory environment is engineered to keep you gambling longer without you even realizing it.

The Las Vegas Strip Isn’t in Vegas

Yeah, really. All those famous resorts sit in unincorporated towns called Paradise and Winchester, completely outside Vegas city limits.

Casino owners pulled this move in the 1950s to dodge city taxes and building regulations.

Real Las Vegas starts north of Sahara Avenue, about 4 miles from the heart of the Strip. This clever boundary trick saves casinos millions in taxes every year. When Strip casinos need police, they get the county’s Convention Center Area Command instead of city cops.

About 90% of tourists have no idea they’re not technically in Las Vegas when visiting the Strip.

France and Italy Sued Vegas Over Their Fake Landmarks

Those mini versions of the Eiffel Tower and Venetian canals actually caused international legal drama.

The Paris Las Vegas Eiffel Tower is exactly half-size at 540 feet tall, and French authorities claimed this violated their copyright laws back in 1999.

Italy got mad about the Venetian’s fake St. Mark’s Square and Grand Canal too. These cases ended with secret deals where casinos now pay yearly fees to use these landmarks.

Some countries flat-out refused Vegas replicas, such as the Taj Mahal and Tower of London. Egypt tried to block the Luxor pyramid and sphinx but failed.

Next time you see these knockoffs, remember they come with serious legal baggage.

The Bellagio Fountains Use Enough Water to Fill 334 Swimming Pools

The Bellagio fountains contain 22 million gallons in an 8-acre lake that’s 14 feet deep.

Every day, they recycle 12 million gallons through 4,500 pipes. Since 2015, Strip resorts have cut water use by 30% while keeping their splashy displays running.

They save 2 billion gallons yearly through gray water recycling.

Professional Falconers Keep Birds Off the Strip Every Morning

Every dawn, a team of falconers releases trained hawks to patrol the airspace above Strip restaurants and pools.

The Strip’s biggest bird control operation has 24 falconers managing 65 birds of prey that work in shifts.

Without them, thousands of pigeons would swarm the outdoor areas, creating a mess and health hazards. This operation started in 1995 with just three falconers and now costs Strip resorts over $3 million yearly.

The birds live in special houses built on casino rooftops for quick deployment to problem spots. This natural pest control prevents about $15 million in cleaning and damage costs annually.

Next time you enjoy a pigeon-free outdoor breakfast, thank the falcons working overhead.

The Mob Museum Has the Actual Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall

Downtown’s Mob Museum houses the real wall from Chicago’s infamous 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, complete with bullet holes and bloodstains.

They transported it brick by brick and reassembled it here.

The museum building itself is historic – a 1933 courthouse where the government held hearings on mob activities in 1950. Their collection includes over 2,000 mob artifacts, including Bugsy Siegel’s sunglasses and Meyer Lansky’s diary detailing casino skimming operations.

Since opening in 2012 after a $42 million renovation, it draws over 350,000 visitors yearly.

They even have a hidden basement speakeasy serving Prohibition cocktails made with moonshine from their authentic still.

Some People Actually Live in Vegas Casinos Full-Time

Several hundred people permanently live in Strip hotels on private residential floors with their own entrances and security systems.

These permanent residents pay between $100,000 and $500,000 yearly just for maintenance and services.

The priciest casino residence sold for $21 million in 2023 – a 12,000-square-foot palace that became Nevada’s most expensive home per square foot.

These residents get their own staff, private pools, and separate elevators that bypass all the tourists.

People Can Actually “Marry” Dead Partners in Vegas Weddings

Vegas has created a niche industry of ‘ghost weddings’ where living people ceremonially marry deceased partners in special ceremonies.

This started in 2007 with just three ceremonies but has grown to about 75 yearly.

These weddings cost between $2,000 and $10,000 depending on how elaborate you want it. The practice comes from a Chinese tradition called ‘minghun’ but has been adapted for Western clients.

While not legally binding, the ceremonies include special vows acknowledging the unusual situation. Some chapels use cardboard cutouts or digital editing to place the deceased in wedding photos.

The practice gained attention in 2015 when a documentary about these ceremonies won an award. Vegas really does have a wedding option for everyone.

Ancient Native American Sites Were Found Under Major Casinos

Several big Strip resorts sit on ancient Native American sites discovered during construction but mostly kept quiet.

Archaeological evidence shows the Las Vegas Valley had Paiute settlements going back 10,000 years. Workers digging foundation trenches in the 1990s found a 6,000-year-old grinding stone and evidence of trading routes.

Some resorts now have small private museums with these artifacts, but they’re mostly closed to the public. One casino uncovered an ancient spring site from 500 CE with 1,200 artifacts now kept in climate-controlled storage.

Federal law requires construction to stop when Native American artifacts are found, but there were several complaints in the ’80s and ’90s that important sites got bulldozed to avoid delays and keep development on schedule.

Visiting the Las Vegas Strip

The Vegas Strip runs 4.2 miles along Las Vegas Boulevard South, just 3 miles from Harry Reid International Airport.

• Ride the Las Vegas Monorail along the east side ($25/day pass)
• Use the free trams connecting major properties
• Walking the whole Strip takes about 90 minutes

You’ll find water stations every quarter mile and the entire area is watched by 1,500+ security cameras 24/7.