Stratosphere Tower
The Stratosphere Las Vegas is a landmark tower, hotel, and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned by Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co who purchased American Casino & Entertainment Properties which includes the Stratosphere along with three other properties. The sale closed on 21 February 2008 for $1.3 billion. The property's signature attraction is the 1,149 feet (350 m) Stratosphere Tower, the tallest free-standing observation tower in the United States and the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere, surpassed only by the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario. It is the tallest free-standing structure in Nevada, and it is the second-tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi River, after the Kennecott Smokestack in Magna, Utah. The hotel is a separate building with 24 stories, 2,444 rooms and an 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) casino.
The Stratosphere is the northernmost of the major Strip casinos and the only one actually in the City of Las Vegas, as the rest of the strip south of Sahara Avenue is in the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester. Because it is inside the city limits, the Nevada Gaming Commission groups it with the other Downtown Las Vegas casinos.
Following its completion in 1996 it was initially less popular than first envisioned due to its location on the extreme north end of the strip, far away from the most popular hotel casinos, but its low room prices and unique offerings eventually ensured its success. While many tourists consider its location to be inconvenient, others feel the location is an advantage since it is equidistant between the more popular strip casinos and the downtown area (which includes the Fremont Street Experience).
The top of the tower has two observation decks, a fine-dining 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.
Stratosphere Tower | eTips Inc.
