Top Of The Stratosphere

Another place we like to visit in Las Vegas is the tower at the Stratosphere hotel.  It’s tower is the tallest structure in Las Vegas and the ninth tallest in the United States.  There is a revolving restaurant in the tower as well as an observation deck and thrill rides.  Yes, for whatever reason there are amusement (if they can possibly be called amusement) rides at the top of an 1,150 foot tall tower.  This time we went up to the observation deck for a view of the city at night. We had a “twofer” from our coupon book.   A few years back, we dined at the restaurant for one of my birthdays but you don’t get to enjoy the crisp night air inside in the tower that we experienced this time.

Here is a view of the strip from the observation deck

 

 

 

 

And here is a view of downtown with one of the rides as it has rotated out beyond the guardrail and is about to open up and start spinning all outside the perimeter of the tower.  There is a “demon drop” ride that falls from a vertical structure sticking up out of the top of the tower.  There is a another that propels a little car out over the edge of the tower down an inclined track and there is also bungee jumping.  There is no way I am even thinking of trying these rides.

But the Stratosphere Tower is going to have some new competition for city viewing.  Caesar's Entertainment (formerly known as Harrah’s) is building a gigantic Ferris Wheel behind the Flamingo Hotel that will be taller than the London Eye.  Here it is under construction with the installation shown at the left of one of the very first cars it will carry.  And if that isn’t crazy enough, at the west end of Fremont Street they are building this giant slot machine known as Slotzilla and there will be a zip line from the top of it that will carry you the length of Fremont Street underneath the Viva Vision canopy and above the crowd below.  It’s always something in Las Vegas.