DID YOU KNOW?
Forty-one million people visit Las Vegas each year. As well, more and more people are permanently moving to Las Vegas. It’s safe to say the town is thriving aëer it’s near death when COVID hit – completely shutting down the Entertainment Capital of the World.
The following are some fun and interesting facts may you not know!
MGM Grand’s bronze lion is the largest bronze statue is the largest in the United States. The beautiful and majestic piece of art comes in at 50 tons! The majestic lion is 45 feet tall and 50 feet long. The sculptor was Snell Johnson.
A lot of people are not aware that the famed sculptor did ³ve years in prison for fraud. Amazingly, in the 12 years since he had been released, he created over 500 bronze statues, which included 350 that were life-size or larger. That breadth of work is proli³c by any standard. Mr. Johnson passed in 2001.
The Luxor hotel opened its doors in 1993. Three years later a $240M expansion wascompleted including an IMAX theater. Over the years it has been renovated several more times. In 2007 the Luxor’s LAX nigh club opened at a party hosted by Britney Spears. Today it has 4,407 rooms, including 442 suites. The hotel is named for the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes) Egypt.
What most people identify the Luxor with is it’s beam of light that shoots straight up to the nighttime stars! Did you know the Luxor beam is the most powerful beam of light in the world?! If you knew this fact – you’d be right.
On a clear night it can be seen as far as 275 miles at aircraë cruising altitude. To produce this powerful beam, it takes 39 seven thousand watt lamps, which at full power costs about $51 per hour. However, only half the lamps have been lit since 2008 as a cost and environmental measure.
For architectural bu²s the Luxor is the largest atrium in the world. The minute you enter the property you realize this is something unique. The atrium’s design is an inverse pyramid shape, with the casino ´oor and theaters located at the base and rooms elevating up the atrium.
The Bellagio hotel was built in 1998 at a cost of $1.6B. Its existence set the standard for Las Vegas attraction hotels and was the most expensive hotel in the world ever built at the time. The Bellagio boasts many attractions and events including an 1,800-seat theater for performances of “O” the amazing water-themed show created by Cirque du Soleil.
Bellagio’s Picasso restaurant is honored with two Michelin stars. And, if you’re an art aµcionado you can enjoy 22 original Picasso paintings that adorn the eatery’s walls.
And let’s not forget the famous ³lm, OCEANS ELEVEN was ³lmed at the property
Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, nearly 14,000-square-feet, enjoys a staggering 20,000 visitors per
day! During Christmas holiday season the attraction welcomes mes 30,000 people per day!!
The world-famous Bellagio fountain, the inspiration of Steve Wynn, original and former owner of the property is 8.5 acres in size. Past and current folklore says the lake is ³lled with treated greywater from the Bellagio itself. But this folklore is not accurate. The lake is ³lled by a freshwater well, drilled decades ago to irrigate the golf course that inhabited the site prior to the hotel. It takes 22 million gallons of water to ³ll the lake.
In a perfect world the water should be replaced every 24 hours. It takes a whopping four days to turn over! In addition, the hotel has a cleaning barge that separates heavy objects at the bottom of the lake such as coins. The coins and other materials are ³ltered through more than 50 pool ³lters.
The Bellagio fountain is one of the top attractions in Las Vegas. The fountains come to life every 30 minutes between 3 and 7pm weekdays as well as every 15 minutes from 7pm to midnight. On weekends the fountains can be seen every 30 minutes from noon to 7pm and every 15 minutes from 7pm to midnight.
Lastly, if you’re a control freak and have an extra quarter of a million dollars you don’t know what to do with you can control the fountain for a period of time – yes at a cost of $250,000.
This is Las Vegas, baby!
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