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High Roller (Ferris wheel)

Coordinates: 36°07′04″N 115°10′05″W / 36.117698°N 115.16815°W / 36.117698; -115.16815
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High Roller
High Roller in 2015
Map
General information
StatusOperating[1]
TypeFerris wheel
LocationLas Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Coordinates36°07′03″N 115°10′05″W / 36.117402°N 115.168127°W / 36.117402; -115.168127 (High Roller)
OpeningMarch 31, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-03-31)[1]
OwnerCaesars Entertainment
Height550 feet (167.6 m)[2][3]
Dimensions
Diameter520 feet (158.5 m)[4]
Design and construction
EngineerArup Engineering[4]
Other information
Seating capacity1120
Website
caesars.com/linq/high-roller

High Roller is a 550-foot tall (167.6 m),[2][3] 520-foot (158.5 m) diameter giant Ferris wheel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment, it opened to the public on March 31, 2014 as the world's tallest Ferris wheel. It is 9 ft (2.7 m) taller than the 541-foot (165 m) Singapore Flyer, which had held the record since 2008.[5][6][7][8] Since October 2021 it is the world's second tallest Ferris wheel after Ain Dubai.

Design

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High Roller was announced in August 2011[9] as the centerpiece[10] of Caesars Entertainment Corporation's $550 million The LINQ.[6] Arup Engineering, which previously consulted on the Singapore Flyer, acted as the structural engineer.[4]

The wheel rotates on a pair of custom-designed spherical roller bearings, each weighing approximately 19,400 lb (8,800 kg). Each bearing has an outer diameter of 7.55 feet (2.30 m), an inner bore of 5.25 feet (1.60 m), and a width of 2.07 feet (0.63 m).[11]

The outer rim comprises 28 sections, each 56 feet (17 m) long, which were temporarily held in place during construction by a pair of 275-foot (84 m) radial struts, prior to being permanently secured by four cables.[12]

The passenger cabins (or capsules) are mounted on the wheel's outboard rim and are individually rotated by electric motors to smoothly maintain a horizontal cabin floor throughout each full rotation.[13] Preliminary designs anticipated 32 passenger cabins, each with a 40-passenger capacity[14] —with the final design accommodating 28 40-person cabins and a total capacity of 1,120 passengers.[7][15]

Each 225-square-foot (20.9 m2)[4] cabin weighs approximately 44,000 pounds (20,000 kg), has a diameter of 22 feet (6.7 m), includes 300 square feet (28 m2) of glass, and is equipped with eight flat-screen televisions.[16][15][7][17]

At night the wheel is illuminated by a 2,000-LED system[18] which can display a single solid color, differently colored sections, multiple colors moving around the rim,[19] and custom displays for special events and holidays.[18]

Construction

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Located on Las Vegas Boulevard, across from Caesars Palace,[7] construction was originally scheduled to begin in September 2011 with a late 2013 completion;[14] subsequently revised to early 2014.[20]

The outer rim of the wheel was completed on September 9, 2013.[21] The first passenger cabin was delivered and installed in November 2013 and the final cabin was installed the following month.[7][17][22] After preliminary testing, High Roller's lighting system was illuminated at sunset on February 28, 2014.[23][18] High Roller opened to the public at 4 p.m. EST on March 31, 2014.[1]

Ticketing

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Tickets were originally expected to cost less than $20 per ride,[7] but estimates had risen to "about $25 per person" by mid-2012 then "about $30 per person" in September 2013 news reports.[21]

When High Roller opened to the public in March 2014, tickets for a single 30-minute ride, the time taken for the entire wheel to rotate once, cost $24.95 (daytime) and $34.95 (nighttime). Other ticket options included a $59.95 Express Pass, allowing the holder to skip the line and ride any time.[24]

Successor as world's tallest

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The Ain Dubai in the United Arab Emirates opened on October 21, 2021. It is 250 m (820 ft) tall and was announced in February 2013, with construction to begin in June 2013 and completion in 2015. Construction eventually began almost two years behind schedule in May 2015. Erection of the main support structure was completed in 2016.[25]

Further delays pushed the target opening to 2021, coinciding with Expo 2020.[26] Ain Dubai has not been operational since March 2022, and the operators later announced it would remain "closed indefinitely", without any further explanation.[27][28]

[edit]
  • View of High Roller from The Linq in 2014
    View of High Roller from The Linq in 2014
  • One of the 28 cabins in 2014
    One of the 28 cabins in 2014
  • High Roller view of the Las Vegas Strip in 2014
    High Roller view of the Las Vegas Strip in 2014
  • High Roller view looking east in 2014
    High Roller view looking east in 2014
  • Top of the High Roller from the base in 2015
    Top of the High Roller from the base in 2015

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Trejos, Nancy. "World's tallest Ferris wheel opens in Vegas". USA Today. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Las Vegas to build world's tallest observation wheel". Archived from the original on October 20, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "World's tallest observation wheel in Vegas". Herald Sun. Associated Press. July 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Carroll, Laura (July 25, 2012). "Caesars pushing forward with High Roller observation wheel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012.
  5. ^ "High Roller: world's largest Ferris wheel hoisted into place in Las Vegas". Associated Press. September 11, 2013 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ a b "A vital Linq for Las Vegas". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Colorado's Leitner-Poma to build cabins for huge observation wheel in Las Vegas". November 15, 2011.
  8. ^ Chew Wui Lynn (March 1, 2008). "Singapore Flyer opens to the public from Saturday". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008.
  9. ^ "Moscow plans an observation wheel to beat Las Vegas 'High Roller' project". Yahoo News. November 28, 2011.
  10. ^ "High Roller: World's Tallest Wheel Offers New Spin on Vegas". NBC News. March 31, 2014.
  11. ^ "SKF Wins Contract for Caesars Las Vegas High Roller Wheel". Design News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  12. ^ "The LINQ Hotel & Casino- Las Vegas Strip Hotel & Casino" (PDF). www.caesars.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  13. ^ "Colorado Company To Build Las Vegas Observation Wheel". November 16, 2011. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Las Vegas plans to top London Eye with massive Ferris wheel". USA Today. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Ashby, Charles (November 15, 2011). "High-flying deal for Leitner-Poma". Grand Junction Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012.
  16. ^ "The LINQ Hotel & Casino- Las Vegas Strip Hotel & Casino" (PDF). www.caesars.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Las Vegas High Roller Observation Wheel reaches new heights". Archived from the original on November 9, 2013.
  18. ^ a b c Olmsted, Larry. "Las Vegas Strip: Brand New Half-Billion Dollar Attraction Woos Tourists". Forbes.
  19. ^ "HIGH ROLLER TESTING FEATURES COLORED SECTIONS". Las Vegas Review-Journal. February 12, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014.
  20. ^ "Hurricane Sandy drives quarterly losses for Caesars". February 25, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "World's newest largest Ferris wheel goes up on Vegas strip". NBC News. September 9, 2013. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013.
  22. ^ "Final passenger cabin affixed to High Roller, but work continues". December 3, 2013.
  23. ^ "Official lights-on for giant Vegas Ferris wheel". Associated Press (AP). The Washington Times. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  24. ^ "The LINQ". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  25. ^ "The Dubai Eye has been renamed to Ain Dubai – What's On". July 12, 2016.
  26. ^ Bhatia, Nehi (June 7, 2019). "Hyundai E&C awards Ain Dubai EPCI subcontract to France's Poma". ConstructionWeek. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  27. ^ "Ain Dubai to remain closed until further notice". Arabian Business. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  28. ^ Rohan, Brian (July 9, 2023). "The mystery of the Ain Dubai, the world's largest (broken) Ferris wheel". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  29. ^ Adams, Mark E. "Voyager Las Vegas". www.vegastodayandtomorrow.com.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to High Roller (Ferris wheel).
Records
Preceded by World's tallest Ferris wheel
2014–2021 		Succeeded by

36°07′04″N 115°10′05″W / 36.117698°N 115.16815°W / 36.117698; -115.16815

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