Question of the Day - 10 May 2021

What a great disaster movie as it breaks free and starts rolling

I think you're being very generous with your calculations, particularly the rider counts. Sure, the cabins have a capacity of 40, but rarely do they carry anything close to that number. 

I've only ridden once, during a Movember promotion where men with moustaches paid $5. Even at that rate, there were only 7 people in the cabin. On the approach, there is a theme park ride style chain & stanchion queuing area with a capacity of hundreds, which was being bypassed. Bloggers often write that the queuing area is never used.

If they are making a profit, it's gotta be a small one. I'd be surprised if they are even covering the debt from construction.

FYI: The rise itself is rather unspectacular. Except for the few minutes at the top where you can see over the Linq and neighboring hotels, your primary view is the back of those hotels. Or looking out the other side, you get a view of the, ahem, Vegas low rent district.

I'm glad I did it - once - but at $5, I still think I overpaid.

Do they still have cars with free drinks

I've ridden it twice, once to experience it and once forced to because my family members went. Each time we either accepted offers or used some Reward Credits. No money left our wallets and never will for that ride. If it were located where the Frontier used to be, I think I'd have enjoyed it better. The views leave lots to be desired.  We did do it at night each time, I have to think the daytime views have even less to offer, but all I saw were the backs of some casinos and maybe the fronts of a few, with the Bellagio waters in sight. I can't even remember, it's been a while. Location, location, location. This isn't a good location for an observation wheel. That's just my opinion. I'm interested in hearing others.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay $35.00 let alone $5.00 to go on it. The Skypod at the Stratosphere is a lot more fun for less money and with much better views. I think the High Roller Ferris Wheel is a white elephant.

Having ridden the High Roller twice, once in the day and again at night, I have to agree with Sandra about it's positioning. 

The daytime trip was as a family of five adults, when we had one of the bar cabins to ourselves with a very talkative and informative barmaid, who got a big tip.

The night trip was also in a bar cabin with a barman who seemed not to want to be there with about twenty customers. He was slow and not everybody got more than one drink. Needless to say he didn't get a tip.

Overall I'd say it probably isn't worth the prices charged, unless you get a discount.

I rode it in the daytime and enjoyed it very much.  It's always easy to get coupons and discounts online, so I don't think anyone should be paying full price.  I think I paid about $22, which seemed reasonable for an hour ride.  Because of the location I've heard that nighttime isn't a good time to ride since you really can't see many lights, but in the daytime you get some great views of the mountains to both the east and the west and the entire Las Vegas valley.  Plus the ride itself is relaxing.  I doubt I'd do it often, but it was a fun ride for the price.  I would definitely recommend riding in the daytime.  

Husband and I took the ride early on--in daylight--when Caesars was comping it.  Stuffy and not very interesting.  Too slow Like riding the monorail the first time...kind of a disappointment.

There was some sort of set up where you bought your ticket, or ticket + drink.  But you had to hike to inside somewhere to get the ticket then back to the wheel.  Having a ticket booth and drink seller in closer proximity to getting on the wheel may attract more riders.  Probably more fun with a group of buddies than riding the thing solo.

It does add nicely to the Las Vegas skyline.

Candy
 

I am almost positive that the wheel only takes 30 minutes to make a full rotation, not an hour. I remember the Happy Half Hour wheel promotion with the bar inside.
Theoretically, that would double the amount of income possible from your estimates, but I am sure it is on the lower side of that.

It would seem that the way to get the best views of Las Vegas would be to book a helicopter tour for around $100 per person. Pricey, but incomparable sightseeing.

@Donzack, it would have to be a disaster/comedy movie with the drunken passengers partying while the wheel rolls down the Strip and ends up in the desert.

not long after it opened. We parked at the Linq, before parking fees. My significant other wanted to ride the "happy-half-hour-car" so there was some confusion about the tickets and a delay in boarding. But the drinks were good.
Once aboard, it went pretty smoothly. I don't remember it as being very crowded. The views were great, but it was nighttime and most of the pictures I took had reflections from the pod windows. An interesting experience once, but without much incentive to do it again.
One thing nobody has mentioned in this thread yet is that there are no plumbing facilities, so you're well-advised to hit the head before boarding. Also if the thing were to break down, there's no way to rescue passengers from the uppermost pods; and even getting people out of the lower ones that the fire department can reach could take hours or even days. But I assume it's better maintained than the elevators at Harrah's Laugulin.
And to Donzack: just like the one in Spielberg's "1941."

About five years ago, spouse had a conference at Bally’s. Two couples that we were hanging out with wanted to ride the Wheel. I had no interest but agreed to go along with the group. 

At the time, I was Diamond level (ah, the good old days).  I decided to find out if I could get a discount on tickets. Surprise!  “As a Diamond level player, you’re entitled to two free tickets per month.”  Sold!   Of course, they might not be as generous these days. 

I agree with previous posters who said it was nothing to write home about. Wouldn’t bother to do it again.  It was worth what we paid for it. 😉

The wheel makes a complete rotation every half hour (stopping and starting is very minimal as the wheel keeps rotating during the on/off loading process). If it were an hour long ride there would definitely half to be a "relief bucket" in the pod.  I enjoy riding the happy half-hour as it is relaxing and with a better view than you get from many of the strip hotel rooms. Remember, thousands of rooms do not have a strip view....you either face East or West.