Stratosphere Tower

One of the landmarks on the Las Vegas Strip is the Stratosphere Tower. The imposing structure

is owned by Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which is an affiliate of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

The organization bought the American Casino and Entertainment Properties that includes the Stratosphere Tower and three other buildings on February 21, 2008 for over one billion dollars.

The structure was completed in 1996. Back then, it was not as frequently visited as the other

casinos because of its les than ideal location. However, its unique offerings and low room rates

put the Stratosphere on the map.

Standing at more than one thousand feet high, the Stratosphere Tower is the tallest free-standing observation tower in the country, It is the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere while the first is Toronto, Ontario’s CN Tower. In Nevada, it is the tallest free-standing structure, and west of the Mississipi River, it is the second tallest after the Kennecott Smokestack in Magna, Utah.

The 24-storey hotel, which had over two thousand rooms and an 80,000 square foot casino, is

a separate building. Of the major Las Vegas Strip casinos in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere is the northernmost. The part of the strip south of Sahara Avenue is in Paradise and Winchester.

Since the Stratosphere is within city limits, the Nevada Gaming Commission groups it along with

the other downtown casinos in Las Vegas.