The High Roller Ferris Wheel By the Numbers

By Scott Roeben, on August 26 2013
2 min read 5 comments
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We’re keeping a close eye on the progress of the High Roller Ferris wheel, now towering over The Strip. The wheel’s outer rim is in the home stretch.

Motto: "Suck it, London Eye!"
The High Roller wheel (motto: “Suck it, London Eye!”) will be 550 feet tall, making it the world’s tallest observation wheel.

We thought it might be a good time to recap some of the numbers involved with this master class in engineering.

The High Roller will weigh about 5,000 tons. It will be 520 feet in diameter.

Sin City's latest brush with awesome.
Sin City’s latest brush with awesome.

The walls of the wheel’s rims are two inches thick.

Each rim section is 56 feet long and weighs about 90,000 pounds.

We got all up in the High Roller's grill.
We got all up in the High Roller’s grill.

The blue braces on the wheel which hold the rim in place are called “radial struts,” and will support the 28 rim sections until they’re removed. The wheel will be held together by cables. The cables will serve as tensioned spokes, keeping the rim in compression, whatever that might mean.

The blue braces will find a good home after they've outlived their usefulness.
The blue braces will find a good home after they’ve outlived their usefulness.

The wheel will have 112 cables, each 225 feet long.

Each of the cables has a breaking force of 550 tons.

The High Roller wheel almost makes us want to learn math. Almost.
The High Roller wheel almost makes us want to learn math. Almost.

When the wheel is complete, it will move at a rate of one foot per second. A full rotation of the wheel will take about 30 minutes.

The wheel will be driven by eight hydraulic drive motors at its base.
The wheel will be driven by eight hydraulic drive motors at its base.

The High Roller’s hub section weighs 546 tons, alone.

The bearings used in the hub section are two feet thick and weigh 19,400 pounds.

The hub. Which is what they should have called The Quad, frankly.
The hub. Which is what they should have called The Quad, frankly.

The High Roller’s brace leg, which is perpendicular to the wheel, is 330 feet long.

The main legs are 275 feet tall.

Worldwide exclusive: The High Roller Port-a-Potty.
Worldwide exclusive: The High Roller Porta Potty, about 225 feet up.

There will be 28 cabins, or “capsules,” for passengers. Each cabin will weigh nearly 44,000 pounds.

Each cabin will hold up to 40 riders, so the High Roller will have a capacity of 1,120 riders at any one time.

The wheel is designed to last 50 years, or 657,000 rotations.

Yes, the High Roller is happy to see you.
Yes, the High Roller is happy to see you.

The High Roller will be the centerpiece of The Linq, a new shopping, dining and entertainment promenade from Caesars Entertainment, owners of several resorts in Las Vegas (including Paris, Flamingo, The Quad, Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and others). The Linq is located between the Flamingo and The Quad, and will have more than 300,000 square feet of space, hopefully with as few porn-slappers and timeshare salespersons as possible.

A number of tenants have been announced for The Linq, including Brooklyn Bowl (a bowling and concert venue), Sprinkles Cupcakes, Chayo Mexicano, F.A.M.E. (an Asian night market) and Off the Strip Bistro restaurant, as well as popular chains Yardhouse and Tilted Kilt.

As for the other Las Vegas observation wheel, allegedly under construction at the south end of The Strip, SkyVue has been eerily quiet since its last announcement.

More updates to come! The High Roller Ferris wheel is expected to open in early 2014.