Question of the Day - 18 July 2025

The High Roller roller coaster circled the observation deck of the Stratosphere at the 900-foot level from the day the place opened (4/29/96) until December 30, 2005.

From the very beginning, it was tame (some said lame), reaching a top speed of 30 miles per hour. Still, it was 100 stories up with great views and more than a million people paid to ride it in its nearly 10 years of existence. But after a decade of use, it needed a facelift. The hydraulics were worn out, it required constant maintenance, and there were even a few accidents. In one, a drive cylinder broke loose and smashed into a window on the observation level below, cracking the safety glass; in another, two wheels came loose, which derailed the train and the riders had to be rescued. And even if the joint had spent $500,000 to repair it, it still would have been a mild ride, especially compared to the ferocious Big Shot, the frightening X Scream, and the nauseating Insanity.

So the decision was made to close it, take it down, and replace it with something else.

Though the whole roller coaster had been lifted up to the observation deck by a crane when the tower was being built, the only way to get it down was by the elevator. So it had to be dismantled into small enough pieces.

A specialized Thern Davit crane was hooked onto the frame of one of the roller coaster cars. The car was rolled into place, then the crane was attached to the roller coaster track just above the section to be removed. Finally, the section -- three feet long and 300 pounds -- was cut away with a plasma welding torch, which cut through the rails, ties, and backbone in half the time, and with twice the safety, of oxyfuel torches.

Over the next six to eight weeks, a total of 367 sections were cut between 2 and 8 a.m. the only time the Tower wasn’t open to visitors.

Finally, the whole High Roller had been dismantled, taken down from the observation deck, and scrapped. At least most of it was. The rest ended up, as did so many old bits of Las Vegas, in the yard of Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, the onetime lieutenant governor, former neurosurgeon, and long-time collector of the weird, wonderful, and unwanted. When Hammergren died and his house was sold, the remains of the High Roller hit the dump. 

Six years later in 2011, the observation wheel at the end of the LINQ promenade was announced, taking the name of the roller coaster.