The STRAT Audio Guide

The STRAT: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to The STRAT

   Look up, and you will find it. The STRAT is a hotel, casino and observation tower, and its tower rises 1,149 feet above the valley floor. That makes it the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. Locals joke that it is a direction-finder for the GPS-challenged, and they have a point: from almost anywhere in the Las Vegas valley, this needle tells you which way the Strip lies. The resort calls itself the place where the Las Vegas Strip begins and ends. It stands at the northern end of the Strip, in the in-between stretch that is neither the Strip proper nor downtown Las Vegas. You will hear this place called the Stratosphere, which was its name for most of its life. It officially became The STRAT in January 2020. Over the next few minutes we will follow the story of a flamboyant gambler and his space-themed casino. We will watch a tower rise on a rough patch of land and see how its rides were built for thrill-seekers. We will also ask what this landmark means to Las Vegas today.

2. 02

   The Polish Maverick and Vegas World

   To understand this tower, start with the man who dreamed it up: Bob Stupak, known as the Polish Maverick. In 1974 he opened a small casino here with a mouthful of a name, Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum. It sat on land that once held a car dealership. In 1979 the site became Vegas World, an outer space-themed hotel and casino. Stupak was a showman. He was a professional poker player who once won one million dollars on a highly publicized Super Bowl bet. He also marketed trips to Las Vegas through a nationally promoted vacation club. People called him Southern Nevada's greatest hustler, or possibly its greatest huckster, and the closest thing to P. T. Barnum the state had ever seen. Vegas World became immensely popular largely because of that marketing. Its success inspired a bigger idea: the tallest observation tower in the country, with rides and a restaurant showcasing the valley's views. Vegas World stayed open while the tower grew beside it, and finally closed on February 1, 1995, to make way for the new resort.

3. 03

   Raising a Tower in Naked City

   Groundbreaking for what was then called the Stratosphere Tower took place on November 5, 1991. Construction of the 32 million dollar tower began in February 1992, on property next to Vegas World. Federal aviation authorities still opposed the project at that stage, and multiple architectural and engineering firms monitored the work to make sure the structure was sound. Along the way, a spectacular three-alarm fire at the tower project could be seen for miles. The ground itself has a story. The tower went up north of the Strip and south of downtown, in an area known as Meadows Village. It was a crime-ridden neighborhood nicknamed Naked City, a name as full of rewritten history as the tower itself. The tower opened in 1996, while hotel rooms were still being converted from Vegas World. The early years were hard. The unfinished hotel had fewer rooms than most Las Vegas resorts, and occupancy ran well below average. Because the tower had already drawn so much publicity, Lyle Berman, the project's main backer, decided a full marketing campaign was unnecessary, and weak marketing became part of the poor revenue story. Landmark status, it turns out, does not pay the bills on its own.

4. 04

   Thrills at the Top and a New Name

   From the beginning, the attractions atop the tower have been a huge draw. Three rides were built to make the most of the height: Big Shot, Insanity and X-Scream. Bob Stupak himself was photographed riding Big Shot in May 1996. In 2010, a newer attraction called SkyJump arrived. It was designed for jumps from the tower, with the descent slowing at the end. It was announced in December 2009. High above the city sits Top of the World, a fine-dining restaurant with a view. It has been called the seventh top-grossing independently owned restaurant in the country. The resort has also had a long entertainment story. The show American Superstars closed in March 2011 after a 15-year run, one of the longest in Las Vegas history. Singer Frankie Moreno then signed a residency, and the showroom was renovated and renamed the Stratosphere Showroom. Golden Entertainment bought the resort in 2017 and began an extensive renovation that continued through 2020. As part of it, a circus-style tent went up near Las Vegas Boulevard for Celestia, a show of acrobats and variety acts that opened in 2019. The resort took the name The STRAT as that transformation unfolded.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   The STRAT has worn many names: a gambling museum, Vegas World, the Stratosphere, and now The STRAT. Each reflects the same stubborn idea that a big enough signal can pull a crowd to the edge of the Strip. It has even found its way into pop culture. The Lucky 38, a fictional tower casino in the video game Fallout: New Vegas, partially resembles the Stratosphere. Next time you spot this needle on the skyline, notice how it holds the northern end of the Strip like a bookend. Then look at the ground around it and picture Vegas World's space-age casino and the old neighborhood of Meadows Village. Which of those layers of Las Vegas will you go looking for next?