The High Roller Ferris Wheel’s Lights Will Change the Way You See Las Vegas Forever

By Scott Roeben, on February 07 2014
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Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

We thought it was pretty exciting capturing images of the world’s tallest observation wheel, the High Roller, as it was being built. Now, as the wheel’s lights are being tested, we realize the thrills are just getting started.

High Roller wheel
Put your eyes back into your head. That’s gross.

The High Roller wheel, at a towering 550 feet tall, has dramatically changed the Las Vegas skyline for good, and we thought it was fairly spectacular before!

High Roller wheel
Each of the passenger cabins carries 40 people, although you wouldn’t know it from looking at them. Riders will board every 10 minutes.

A team of engineers has been putting the High Roller’s lights through their paces, as well as doing some final testing of the passenger “pods.”

High Roller wheel
We sort of want to snack on these. Is that weird?

The colors along the rim of the High Roller Ferris wheel seem almost limitless in their variations.

During our recent visit, we saw light combinations sure to be used on holidays (red, white and blue for Independence Day, for example), and other colors that seems to move around the rim, which we’re thinking could be synchronized to music.

High Roller Ferris wheel
We’re counting the moments before they let actual high rollers control the lights for a fee, as Bellagio does for its dancing fountains.

We saw a heavy stream of Las Vegas visitors stopping to take photos of the High Roller wheel, so it is already well on its way to becoming a world-class attraction and photo op. (WTF moment: A security guard near the High Roller site told us no photos were permitted, except with smartphone cameras. Good luck enforcing that one.)

By the way, Travel + Leisure recently named the High Roller one of the “World’s Coolest New Tourist Attractions.”

The High Roller observation wheel is the centerpiece of the new Linq shopping, dining and entertainment district between Flamingo and The Quad, and is expected to open for riders in the next couple of months.

Intriguingly, a test page on Ticketmaster seems to reveal both the High Roller’s price tiers ($25, $30, $35, depending upon the time of day) and an opening date, March 1. However, we hear the opening date is definitely not the first weekend in March, and the ticket prices aren’t accurate on Ticketmaster’s test pages either.

We have heard the High Roller won’t be open by St. Patrick’s Day, unfortunately.

Time will tell, but as we said, a spring opening is definitely in the cards. We’re still betting the First Family will be the first official riders when the High Roller opens.

High Roller Observation Wheel Lights