Stratosphere Las Vegas
History
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In the early 1990s, The Stratosphere was conceived by Bob Stupak to replace his Vegas World casino. At the conception of the project, one of the planned rides was to be a giant ape that would carry riders up and down one of the tower's columns. The original plans envisioned the Stratosphere exceeding the height of the CN Tower (1, 815 ft (553 m)), making it the world's tallest freestanding structure at that time. However, due to possible interfence with nearby McCarran International Airport, and any possible flights that come through Las Vegas, the Tower's proposed height shrank multiple times until its current height of 1, 149 ft (350 m).
On August 29, 1993, the Tower caught fire while still under construction. No one was injured, but the fire forced repairs and rebuilding that led to numerous delays in the construction of the Tower.
In 1995, Grand Casinos was brought on as an equity partner for the still privately funded project under construction. While construction was still progressing, the Stratosphere Corporation was formed as a public company with shares being offered to the public.
The Stratosphere opened on April 30, 1996. Shortly after opening, the Stratosphere Corporation was forced to file bankruptcy. This caused construction on the second tower to stop, with only a few stories partially built, and it allowed Carl Icahn to gain control through one of his companies by buying a majority of the outstanding bonds.
A major addition was completed in June 2001 for $1 billion that included finishing the 1000-room second hotel tower.
In the early 2000s, the company attempted to get approval for a roller coaster that would run from several hundred feet up the tower and, in the last proposal, across Las Vegas Boulevard. Part of that last proposal included an entry monument on the ride over Las Vegas Boulevard welcoming people to the City of Las Vegas. The Las Vegas City Council did not approve the project due to objections from the neighbors over possible noise from the enclosed cars on the proposed ride.
Restaurants
Dining options include Top of the World, a revolving restaurant; Fellini Italian Ristorante; a buffet featuring a one price/eat-all-day option; Roxy, a 50-themed diner with singing servers; and Lucky Cafe, a coffee shop and full menu restaurant reminiscent of Vegas in its "Rat pack" heyday.
Attractions
View from the top
The top of the tower has two observation decks, a restaurant known as "Top of the World" (revolving restaurant), and three thrill rides:
Big Shot at 1, 081 ft (329 m) is the highest thrill ride in the world
Insanity, opened in 2005, at 900 ft (270 m) is the second highest thrill ride in the world; it dangles riders over the edge of the tower and then spins in a circular pattern at approximately forty miles per hour
X-Scream at 866 ft (264 m) is the third highest thrill ride in the world
Previous attractions
The High Roller at 909 ft (277 m) was the second highest ride in the world and the highest roller coaster. It was closed on December 30, 2005 and dismantled to make space for a new attraction.
Future attractions
In January 2010, American Casino & Entertainment Properties announced a new thrill ride for the top of the tower: SkyJump, a Bungee jumping-like ride that will allow riders to plummet 855 feet attached to a bungee cord type apparatus. SkyJump is scheduled to open in April 2010.
Gaming
Some of the casino games include slot machines, video poker and European roulette. The Stratosphere has inherited some unusual variations on casino games from its Vegas World predecessor, such as "crapless craps". The 80, 000-square-foot casino includes approximately 50 table games, 1, 500 slot and video poker machines, a poker room, and a race and sports book.
Controversies
In two separate incidents in 2005, riders were left dangling several hundred feet above the Las Vegas Strip for nearly an hour and a half when one of the thrill rides shut down. The ride didn't malfunction, but was programmed to cease operation if a fault or problem is detected by the ride's control system. Compensation was offered to the stranded riders.
Since its opening in 1996, five people have jumped to their deaths from the top of the tower.
Gallery
View looking upwards at The Stratosphere
The Stratosphere by night
View from front
View from ground at night
Clouds over the Stratosphere at midday
View from Stratosphere during construction
Insanity the Ride atop the Tower
The X Scream on top of the Stratosphere "drops" riders over the edge of the tower
View of the former High Roller ride
Aerial view of the Stratosphere
See also
List of towers
List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
X-Scream
Tower of the Americas
References
John L. Smith, No Limit: the Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower (Huntington Press, 1997) ISBN 0-929712-18-8
Notes
http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/
Tower Fire Rained Debris', Elizabeth Holland and Steve Sebelius, Las Vegas Sun, August 30, 1993.
Official Las Vegas tourism site
http://www.aaavegas.com/attractions/the-stratosphere-las-vegas-hotel-casino-to-add-worlds-highest-skyjump"-to-their-collection-of-thrills/2010/01/11
'Teen and cousin suffer night of insanity', Las Vegas Review-Journal, Keith Rogers, April 21, 2005
'Man jumps from Stratosphere Tower', Joe Schoenmann, Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 7, 2000.
'Two Jump to their deaths at separate hotels', K C Howard, Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 16, 2002.
'Tragedy follows 'Elvis' show work', Norm Clarke, Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 30, 2005.
'Man jumps from Stratosphere Tower', Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 8, 2006.
'Man jumps to death from Stratosphere Tower', Las Vegas Sun, May 6, 2007
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stratosphere Las Vegas
Stratosphere Las Vegas homepage
Las Vegas Leisure Guide page on the Stratosphere, with construction details
Stratosphere Tower at Structurae
Insanity the Ride
Insanity the Ride video
Satellite shot
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Coordinates: 36850.59 115919.40 / 36.1473861N 115.155389W / 36.1473861; -115.155389
Categories: Architecture in the Las Vegas metropolitan area | Amusement parks in Nevada | Casinos in Las Vegas | Skyscraper hotels in the Las Vegas metropolitan area | Landmarks in Nevada | Resorts in Las Vegas | Las Vegas Strip | Towers in Nevada | 1996 architectureHidden categories: Articles to be merged from November 2009 | All articles to be merged
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