The Stratosphere tower as seen from the roof of the MGM Grand parking garage. This photo was taken in December 2000. The Stratosphere used to be Bub Stupak's Vegas World.
The green arch in this photo was part of a thrill ride at the MGM Grand; it is no longer there. This is one of our favorite Las Vegas photos. We remember the below freezing crisp December desert air, clear skies, and the thrill of finding a new scene to photograph after doing all the usual Las Vegas strip tourist photos. This image is artificially enhanced.

Stratosphere has been pretty much completely remodeled since it was Vegas World and is a nice property EXCEPT for its location, which is about a quarter mile north of Sahara Ave. on Las Vegas Blvd. Sahara Ave. is the boundary dividing the touristy and heavily patrolled (by hotel security) part of Las Vegas Blvd. from the "urban blight" part of Las Vegas Blvd. which is full of quickie wedding chapels, strip clubs, gas stations, inexpensive old motels, fast food, pawn shops, bail bondsmen and gas stations. There is so much security on duty (some undercover) at Las Vegas strip resorts that the tourist corridor (between Tropicana and Sahara) is almost 100% crime free. Cross the street and it's a different scene with panhandlers and other sketchy characters.