# You think you're in Las Vegas - but you're not! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 28, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561 "2021-07-28T23:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/1 "2021-07-28T23:27:49Z")
Planning a trip to Las Vegas? Most likely, you won’t see Las Vegas at all. You will land at the airport in [Paradise NV](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Paradise,+NV,+USA/@36.1019998,-115.1971746,19892m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c8c57a76423ced:0x98534c935aac7b95!8m2!3d36.0971945!4d-115.1466648), and you might be staying at Circus Circus in [Winchester NV](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Winchester,+NV,+USA/@36.1371788,-115.1640841,11885m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c8c48b8b171a13:0xcef7e53940dd10f7!8m2!3d36.1370261!4d-115.1185825). These two places are actually “unincorporated towns” and don’t appear in postal addresses (“Las Vegas” and the zip code is sufficient city info for these places) If you’re at the Strat(osphere) Tower or “downtown”, you’re in [Las Vegas.](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Las+Vegas,+NV,+USA/@36.1219027,-115.2335849,23147m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3!8m2!3d36.1699412!4d-115.1398296) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/2 "2021-07-28T23:42:53Z")
Or, if you took a wrong turn in Albuquerque, you could end up in an [entirely different Las Vegas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,_New_Mexico). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/3 "2021-07-29T00:07:07Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > and you might be staying at Circus Circus Dear God, I hope not! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/4 "2021-07-29T00:13:12Z")
I thought Stephen King blew that up. Twice! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/5 "2021-07-29T02:34:18Z")
And this is exactly why the story of you hooking up with the random stranger in the elevator in a drunken haze winds up getting back to your spouse. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/6 "2021-07-29T06:02:05Z")
So you may THINK what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but you may not be in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/7 "2021-07-29T10:45:46Z")
This is jolly interesting to me, since I live in the Uk and have taken many holidays in what I thought was “Las Vegas”. So when I fly into McCarran airport, I’m in Paradise?! 😨 😳 I’ve stayed at the Luxor Hotel (that seems to be in Vegas 🕶) and the Orleans Hotel (apparently that’s in Vegas too.) I’ve visited the Bellagio (Vegas) and the Wynn (Vegas) as well as Freemont Street (still Vegas.) I’ve passed by Teller’s house in the desert (also Las Vegas) and admired the duo of Penn and Teller at the Rio (still Vegas.) I shall enjoy chatting with my Vegas friends about this next time I go. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/8 "2021-07-29T11:20:02Z")
> [@glee](#): > > So when I fly into McCarran airport, I’m in Paradise?! 😨 😳 > > I’ve stayed at the Luxor Hotel (that seems to be in Vegas 🕶) and the Orleans Hotel (apparently that’s in Vegas too.) > > I’ve visited the Bellagio (Vegas) and the Wynn (Vegas) as well as Freemont Street (still Vegas.) > > I’ve passed by Teller’s house in the desert (also Las Vegas) and admired the duo of Penn and Teller at the Rio (still Vegas.) You can view the city limits of Vegas via this [Google Maps link](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Las+Vegas,+NV/@36.1249185,-115.3150841,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3!8m2!3d36.1699412!4d-115.1398296). As you can see, the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd. (the Strip) and Sahara Ave. is the southern border of the city - the rest of the Strip below that is in unincorporated Clark County. That’s by design - the mob bosses and other entrepreneurs who opened the earliest resorts on the Strip did so to evade regulations present on Fremont St., a few miles to the north, the historical portion of which is entirely within city limits. Personally, I’m intrigued by some of the tiny enclaves northwest of the touristy part of town, in some of which it looks like there are individual properties that have never been annexed into the city. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/9 "2021-07-29T11:50:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > > > and you might be staying at Circus Circus > > Dear God, I hope not! No kidding. That dump needed to be torn down 40+ years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Cookiegirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Cookiegirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cookiegirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/10 "2021-07-29T11:58:01Z")
So is that where the Eddie Money song came from? Two Tickets to Paradise…pack your bags we’ll leave tonight? Maybe he was just going to Vegas. Lol jk. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/11 "2021-07-29T12:07:45Z")
I had a 1 hour layover in Vegas once a long time ago. The airport is basically just another casino, but with planes! I only had a couple of dollars on me and I really only had time to do one of two things: stick my two bucks in a slot machine, or get a couple of tacos at Taco Bell (it was right next to my connecting gate). There was really no winning choice there. I went with the Taco Bell. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/12 "2021-07-29T12:41:39Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > The airport is basically just another casino, but with planes! I got in trouble at McLarin when I allowed my son (8 years old) to help me play a slot machine. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/13 "2021-07-29T14:02:05Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I went with the Taco Bell. What did you win? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/14 "2021-07-29T14:03:30Z")
Gastrointestinal distress. When you go to Taco Bell, everyone’s a winner! ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/15 "2021-07-29T14:04:27Z")
At least you don’t have to pay taxes on your winnings. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/16 "2021-07-29T14:07:12Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I had a 1 hour layover in Vegas once a long time ago. The airport is basically just another casino, but with planes! I got a Royal Flush on a video poker machine at the Reno airport once. $4,000!. Felt great the whole flight home. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/17 "2021-07-29T14:11:43Z")
> [@glee](#): > > This is jolly interesting to me, since I live in the Uk and have taken many holidays in what I thought was “Las Vegas”. > > So when I fly into McCarran airport, I’m in Paradise?! 😨 😳 Aye. > [@glee](#): > > I’ve stayed at the Luxor Hotel (that seems to be in Vegas 🕶) and the Orleans Hotel (apparently that’s in Vegas too.) Nope. Neither of them are in Las Vegas. > [@glee](#): > > I’ve visited the Bellagio (Vegas) and the Wynn (Vegas) as well as Freemont Street (still Vegas.) Just one of those three is in Las Vegas: the Fremont Street Experience. > [@glee](#): > > I’ve passed by Teller’s house in the desert (also Las Vegas) and admired the duo of Penn and Teller at the Rio (still Vegas.) Nope; not Las Vegas. > [@glee](#): > > I shall enjoy chatting with my Vegas friends about this next time I go. Actually, I live in Paradise. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/18 "2021-07-29T14:34:11Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Gastrointestinal distress. > [@Procrustus](#): > > I got a Royal Flush on a video poker machine at the Reno airport once. $4,000!. Felt great the whole flight home. Royal Flushes for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/19 "2021-07-29T15:15:22Z")
I once needed a Royal Flush after visiting Taco Bell too often. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/20 "2021-07-29T23:01:52Z")
Paradise? Somebody laid the mountains low, while the town got high? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561.md?page=2)