# Las Vegas Observation Strip Wheel is falling short. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653 "2015-03-10T00:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/1 "2015-03-10T00:44:01Z")
Seems extremely over priced too me. Its nothing more than a fancy Ferris Wheel. Who wants to get stuck on a Farris Wheel for 30 minutes? 10 minutes tops is all I’d be interested in and I \*might \*pay 12 bucks. It doesn’t take that long to see the sights from a Wheel like this. Anyone Vegas visitors familiar with this attraction? [http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-tallest-observation-wheel-falls-short-riders-191211897.html](http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-tallest-observation-wheel-falls-short-riders-191211897.html) > [@](#): > > The ride posted the shortfall despite deep discounts for locals on the regular $29.95 to $59.95 ticket prices, Groupon deals and airline travel package discounts. > > The attraction isn’t hard to miss as it towers behind the Las Vegas Strip, which sees 41 million visitors a year. > > So how does Caesars Entertainment get already over-stimulated visitors to Vegas to come on board? > > Offering them drinks from an open bar during the 30-minute ride has helped. Riders booking the “Happy Half Hour” package have accounted for one of four riders, said Tariq Shaukat, the company’s chief commercial officer. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/2 "2015-03-10T00:51:34Z")
Wouldn’t an attraction like this be a Casino perk? Like the food and Vegas Shows that draw people to the Casinos. You’d think the casinos would offer their high rollers free tickets on the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/3 "2015-03-10T01:30:18Z")
I rode it back in June and quite enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/4 "2015-03-10T01:37:48Z")
I can’t speak for the whole valley, but my opinion and the opinion of everyone I know is that the High Roller was an even dumber idea than the monorail’s route was. We all knew this thing would never make money, just like we knew the monorail would fail (after they disclosed the monorail’s route). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/5 "2015-03-10T01:42:41Z")
I understand why the London Eye is popular. There’s hundreds of years of history and construction to see. Vegas??? I can’t see the thrill of spending thirty minutes looking at the Strip. [London Eye](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye) has been quite popular. > [@](#): > > The London Eye was formally opened by then Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999, although it was not opened to the public until 9 March 2000[2] because of technical problems.[citation needed] > > On 5 June 2008 it was announced that 30 million people had ridden the London Eye since it opened. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/6 "2015-03-10T02:13:10Z")
I like the giant wheel by Niagara Falls and the Ladyship has plans of hitting the London one during her trip but all we’ve ever heard of the Vegas one is “meh” so we’ve never bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/7 "2015-03-10T10:13:14Z")
I rode it when I visited Vegas last summer and I enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/8 "2015-03-10T10:26:20Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I like the giant wheel by Niagara Falls and the Ladyship has plans of hitting the London one during her trip but all we’ve ever heard of the Vegas one is “meh” so we’ve never bothered. Slightly off-topic so forgive me but, if you want to get a great view of London then by all means go on the eye…however…Just as high and to my mind a better viewing experience, is the [Sky Garden](http://skygarden.london/sky-garden) at 20 Fenchurch Street. It is a lovely, airy, space. Unobstructed views on all four sides and totally free to visit. You just have to book a slot ahead of time but once up there you are free to wander and loiter. There are restaurants and a bar/coffee shop. We were there a couple of weeks ago and the kids loved it. We often go on the London Eye for free as we have yearly “Merlin Passes” but if you want to get up high in London it costs £60-£70 for a Family of four on the eye. The Shard is nearly £90!!! Sod that, I’ll take a free sky garden trip thanks, and the money saved pays for lunch at the top . ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/9 "2015-03-10T11:11:04Z")
We have one of these in Melbourne, a complete [white elephant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Star). ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/10 "2015-03-10T21:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > [Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-tallest-observation-wheel-falls-short-riders-191211897.html) > The attraction isn’t hard to miss as it towers **behind** the Las Vegas Strip Bolding mine. I rode this last summer. It is a nice 30 minute ride but the view of the strip is horrible, for the 30 minute ride you are at a height to see over the buildings less than 10 minutes of it, and even then you can only see a tiny fraction of the strip. And the piped-in commentary on the TV screens about how great the wheel is (largest in the world!) detracts from the experience as well. I would not recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/11 "2015-03-11T02:00:58Z")
At that price, we went to dinner instead. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/12 "2015-03-11T07:46:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I can’t speak for the whole valley, but my opinion and the opinion of everyone I know is that the High Roller was an even dumber idea than the monorail’s route was. > > We all knew this thing would never make money, just like we knew the monorail would fail (after they disclosed the monorail’s route). Add me to that list. The monorail is a complete failure, as everyone expected. It runs from places people aren’t at, to places people don’t want to go. It takes more effort to take the monorail a mile than to walk that same mile. At least the High Roller is\* kind of \*cool looking. I can’t imagine people will ever pay what the thing needs to be profitable, but there are some clever ways to make it attractive to customers (like the alcohol). Maybe if they put a stripper in each of the cars… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/13 "2015-03-11T07:51:32Z")
We were on the London Eye back in 2003, and loved it. But Vegas? There’s nothing there that interests me, on any level. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/14 "2015-03-11T07:55:45Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I understand why the London Eye is popular. There’s hundreds of years of history and construction to see. > > Vegas??? I can’t see the thrill of spending thirty minutes looking at the Strip. > > [London Eye](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye) has been quite popular. The Strip is marvelous, but you wouldn’t know it by riding in the High Roller. The thing overlooks a parking lot and a couple of garage roofs. The tippy-top of it can almost see over the fifth-rate casino in front of it, to the traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s a total bust. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/15 "2015-03-11T10:42:27Z")
We gots us one in [DC](http://www.thecapitalwheel.com/)also. I have no idea how popular it may be and I don’t know that I want to fork out the senior ticket price. Who knows - I might get really bored one sunny day… ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/16 "2015-03-11T11:11:42Z")
They could reconfigure it into a [euthenasia coaster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_Coaster) for despondent gamblers ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/17 "2015-03-11T11:39:27Z")
A friend who lives in Vegas did it with a group of friends, as a “thing to get high and do” thing. Total disappointment, according to her. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/18 "2015-03-11T20:03:04Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > The monorail is a complete failure, as everyone expected. It runs from places people aren’t at, to places people don’t want to go. It takes more effort to take the monorail a mile than to walk that same mile. I wasn’t that familiar with the monorail, so I looked it up on wikipedia, and was excited to see you could take it from Bally’s/Paris to the airport. Then I noticed that the airport portion wasn’t built yet. Is there any chance of that actually being built? It would make this actually useful for visitors. _sorry for the minor hijack_ ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/19 "2015-03-12T02:46:11Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > I wasn’t that familiar with the monorail, so I looked it up on wikipedia, and was excited to see you could take it from Bally’s/Paris to the airport. Then I noticed that the airport portion wasn’t built yet. Is there any chance of that actually being built? It would make this actually useful for visitors. > > _sorry for the minor hijack_ No, it won’t ever be built. At least, it won’t ever be built as long as human-driven taxis are still around. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653/20 "2015-03-12T02:47:30Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Add me to that list. The monorail is a complete failure, as everyone expected. It runs from places people aren’t at, to places people don’t want to go. It takes more effort to take the monorail a mile than to walk that same mile. > > At least the High Roller is\* kind of \*cool looking. I can’t imagine people will ever pay what the thing needs to be profitable, but there are some clever ways to make it attractive to customers (like the alcohol). Maybe if they put a stripper in each of the cars… I had a buddy who wanted to get an 8 Ball and 2 strippers and get a car on the High Roller; I agree that sounded like it would have been fun. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-observation-strip-wheel-is-falling-short/714653.md?page=2)