Busting Vegas myths: Las Vegas boasts 15,000 miles of neon

Published on: October 2, 2023 at 08:04 pm.

Last updated on: October 24, 2023, 10:34 pm.

Travel, real estate, and legal websites often try to generate more traffic than they’re worth by publishing lists of “surprising facts” about the cities in which they do business.

One oft-repeated about Las Vegas is that it boasts “15,000 miles of neon.”

This is not a surprising fact, just another Las Vegas myth.

Not that there is a known neon distance in Las Vegas that differs appreciably from this estimate. Any rough estimate of how far the glass-encased neon tubes would have twisted their way through the Strip and downtown — if they had somehow been straightened and placed end-to-end — was pulled straight out of someone’s ass.

It’s not just us saying this. He is one of the world’s leading neon experts.

“It would be almost impossible to get that number accurately,” said Emily Filmer, director of collections at the Neon Museum. Casino.org. “We don’t even have the number of linear feet of neon currently running at the Boneyard.”

It is not always possible to reach a consensus about the neon used in a single building in Las Vegas. For example, one original source stated that eight miles of neon were added to Binion’s Horseshoe during a 1961 renovation, according to Filmer. A second source quoted the number as six miles and the third as four.

Interpretation of the myth

The Ground Zero location for the Miles of Neon legend appears to be a May 2, 2000 article about Las Vegas Boulevard published in a magazine Las Vegas Journal Review.

Although the Strip is three miles long, there are over 15,000 miles of burning neon tubes throughout the casinos lining the route. The reporter wrote without mentioning a source.

This estimate was captured in a December 20, 2001 magazine article Nevada Call It didn’t really go away. On September 14, 2023, even the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority tweeted that:

When asked where the LVCVA got this information, a spokesperson emailed Casino.org website: “Let me do some digging,” and I never followed through.

Chase that neon rainbow

Even if there was an accurate way to measure the miles of neon by simply noticing the signs and structural decorations therein RJ The article was published 23 years ago – certainly not there – and its original estimate has since been rendered obsolete by the replacement of much neon with cheaper, more environmentally friendly LED lighting.

By the way, here’s an amazing fact: every neon distance is expressed in 15,000 of something.

Look for “Vegas Legends Busted” every Monday Casino.org. Visit VegasMythsBusted.com To read pre-set Vegas Legends. Do you have a suggestion for a Vegas legend that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.