Viva Las Vegas!

35. Stratosphere

Las Vegas, NV

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The exclamation point that is the northernmost casino on the Las Vegas Strip is the Stratosphere that is America's tallest freestanding observation tower at 1,149 feet. It was planned to be the world's tallest tower but there were concerns again about interference with planes heading in and out of McCarran International Airport. It was also considered to have one of the rides be a giant mechanical ape carrying riders up and down the building when it was finished in 1996. That did not happen either. The giant ape is no more crazy than the three thrill rides that ended up under the Space Needle crown of the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino: Insanity that extends 20 yards off the tower and spins riders 40 miles per hour while all they see is the street 900 feet below, Sky Jump which plunges adventurers 855 feet from the 108th floor down to the ground on a zip line, and Big Shot which delivers 4Gs of force as the highest thrill ride you can take anywhere. Tamer is the 360-degree view from your table in the rotating Top of the World at the Stratosphere restaurant as it delivers a complete panorama of Las Vegas every 80 minutes. The hotel with 2,427 rooms is located in the 24-story building around the tower.