Hear the words “Las Vegas”, and your mind is immediately flooded by a stream of scintillating images of bright lights, gambling, show girls, easy marriages, easy divorces, champagne showers and huge hotels. If you’ve watched a certain movie chronicling the drunken misadventures of four men who go to Vegas for a bachelor party, then you might also think of Asian gangs, holocaust rings, and Mike Tyson’s tiger. One wonders why we don’t all just live there – besides the possibility that you might end up pulling out your own tooth, or finding a stripper’s baby in the closet – Sin City sounds like heaven in the middle of a vast desert. 

If you’re ever planning on going on vacation there, or moving there altogether, below is a list of the 6 things you probably didn’t know about the city.

  1. “Las Vegas” means the meadows in Spanish.
    The city was named by the Spanish explorer, Antonio Armijo, during his travels from Santa Fe to Los Angeles in 1829. It’s hard to picture now but, prior to the erection of countless casinos and hotels, the area was a desert oasis with artesian springs. “Las Vegas” referred to the grassland seen along spring-fed desert streams in the area by the early Spanish explorers.

  2. Las Vegas isn’t the number one gambling destination
    For every eight residents of Las Vegas, there is one operating slot machine. The city is renowned for its casinos and boasts 1, 700 licensed gambling joints. However, the title of gambling capital of the world actually belongs to Macau, China, which in 2008 claimed more gambling dollars than Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined.

  3. A visit to Vegas guarantees a taste of some of the world’s other favourite cities
    A few of the attractions in Las Vegas include an Eiffel tower (half the size of the one in Paris), and a pyramid at Hotel Luxor that is about ¾ the size of the original great pyramid of Giza. Tourists can also go on gondola rides at the Venetian Hotel, or ride a roller coaster through the New York-New York casino, which has 12 replica towers of the New York skyline.

  4. Vegas is one of many Sin Cities
    Although the name “Sin City” is most commonly used to refer to Las Vegas, the phrase actually refers to any place with attractions that are considered sinful, such as prostitution, gambling and drug use. Other Sin Cities include Amsterdam (Netherlands), Pattaya (Thailand) and Moscow (Russia).

  5. It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway
    And this is just one of the surprising laws that the sinners in Sin City must abide by. Prostitution and unprotected shenanigans are also illegal. However, if someone shoots your dog on your property, hanging the culprit would be perfectly legal.

  6. Most Vegas vacationers have just hit mid-life
    One might imagine that the majority of people who visit Sin City are young, wild and free. However, in reality, 75% of the people who visit Vegas are 42 years old, or older. This means that those in their 20s and 30s, who go to Vegas with plans to party like a rock star with Bradley Cooper lookalikes, are probably going to be bitterly disappointed when they find that the people checking into the same hotel are more likely to relax and look more like their parents.

Tetlanyo Lekalake enjoys writing about various content such as how to play bingo games online, why online bingo games are great for your social life and the intrigues of Las Vegas life. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?