The Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower Las Vegas

These photos were taken about 20 years apart but there's little difference between them. The newer photo is from 2019. Construction of this tower began in 1992 while the property was still known as "Vegas World." The name was changed to Stratosphere in 1996 when construction was completed. The official name now appears to be "The Strat Hotel, Casino and Tower."

The main entrance to the Strat, and the observation deck at the top of the tower. The indoor deck (which had a Starbucks the last time I visited) is on the 108th floor and there's an outdoor observation deck on the 109th floor with some thrill rides. There's usually a line to ride up to the top and you need a ticket, which is around $30. You also go through a metal detector and some items are not allowed, so check their website before going.

The Strat showroom lobby. It just looked too cool to not photograph. The Strat is technically not on the strip since it's across Sahara Ave. It's not a long walk, 3 blocks past Sahara, but it can be unpleasant as there are often homeless people and drug addicts in the area. Don't walk there at night unless you're comfortable with urban areas.

Strat tower closeup view.

Inside the Strat casino. A "Bud girl" hands out free samples of Budweiser beer while a cocktail waitress stands by.

The Strat tower as seen from The Venetian, before Wynn & Encore were constructed. You can see the Desert Inn towards the left and Turnberry Place condo towers on the right.

The Stratosphere buffet and casino as seen in 2003. The Covid pandemic in 2020 shut down all the buffets, most of them never reopened.

The Stratosphere Las Vegas tower and part of a room tower as seen in 2003. This shot looks kind of like what you'd see in an advertisement.