Busting Vegas Myths: The ‘World’s Largest Gold Nugget’ is Real

Published on: March 25, 2024 at 08:13 pm.

Last updated on: March 26, 2024 at 01:00 pm.

“The Hand of Faith is the largest gold nugget in existence, the second largest gold nugget ever discovered, and the largest gold nugget ever detected by a metal detector,” the copy on the Golden Nugget Las Vegas website reads.

This is all true, as far as we can tell. But what is most likely a lie is that It is on display at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

What He is Displayed beneath the sign that says “The World’s Largest Gold Nugget” — the object that hundreds of tourists take selfies with every day — is, according to casino staff, a replica, replica, of a hand from forged.

Bad faith

The Hand of Faith, approximately 62 pounds of pure gold, was discovered in September 1980 by Australian Kevin Hillier, who didn’t bother digging it up because he thought his new metal detector was broken.

In 1981, Hillier sold Hand of Faith for $1 million to Golden Nugget Inc., which displayed it in downtown Las Vegas, inside what was then the company’s only casino.

Back in 2014, Vital Vegas Blogger Scott Rubin got the scoop that Golden Nugget had moved Hand of Faith to its then-new location in Biloxi, Miss. On May 1 of that year.

In the meantime, the Las Vegas casino is still able to offer a Hand of faith. A casino rep admitted to Robin that it was a double play, but promised that the real deal would be back in Vegas by the end of that summer.

“Apparently the whole loaning out process is very common, as the same happened when the Golden Nugget opened in Atlantic City in 2012,” Rubin wrote at the time. This site no longer maintains the Hand of Faith Offer.

So where is the real one now?

On March 22, 2024, Casino.org I called the front desk agent at the Las Vegas Golden Nugget. She also claimed that the offered hand of faith was false gold.

When asked how she knew for sure, she replied: “Because my manager just told me.”

That leaves two other current offerings of gold nuggets with the Hand of Faith: Biloxi and Laughlin, Nevada. As with the show in Las Vegas, neither has a sign indicating that their display is a replica. (The Fourth Hand of Faith was on display at the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana until sometime last year.)

Casino.org I called the front desk agents in both Biloxi and Laughlin, and that’s where this story took an unexpected turn…

Both agents admitted that, as far as they knew, their Hands of Faith were also replicas.

what’s happening here?

According to Robin, the true hand of faith is still on display in Biloxi because, his source says, no return trip ever took place. This was because shipping and insurance for the nugget’s maiden voyage were more expensive than expected, which cost more than $1 million.

Therefore, the agent in Biloxi was either mistaken or lying to us.

However, it is also possible that the actual block has returned to Vegas or is regularly shuffled between the three screens as part of a giant shell game.

As for what customer-facing employees know, they may be kept in the dark to prevent an inside job. The current estimated value of the nugget is $3.5 million. Although the heat would be too intense for the stolen gold to be resold in this familiar form, it could certainly be melted down for an estimated return of $1.5 million.

Or perhaps all three exhibits We are The world’s largest gold nugget is no longer on display anywhere. Perhaps its insurance must be the biggest expense in the world.

Casino.org I asked Golden Nugget’s public relations department to clarify and identify which two or perhaps three of the three Hand of Faith offers were false.

Unsurprisingly, our email was not returned in time for this story.

Look for “Vegas Legends Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Visit VegasMythsBusted.com to read previously busted Vegas myths. Do you have a suggestion for a Vegas legend that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.