As Las Vegas’ iconic stratosphere-reaching observation tower turns 30, one local resident had a front-row seat to Bob Stupak’s fight to build the attraction now owned by Golden Entertainment Inc.
Nevada Stupak, 50, runs Stupak Las Vegas, an event planning company that coordinates corporate and leisure travel to Las Vegas so that groups or individuals can pay one supplier for a variety of experiences.
Stupak is best known as the son of “Polish Maverick” Bob Stupak, a professional poker player who overcame dozens of challenges to build the resort and tower that first opened its doors on April 30, 1996.
“It was the best day of his life,” Nevada Stupak said of the opening day of the Stratosphere, now known as The Strat.
Nevada Stupak was not of legal gambling age at the time of the opening, and he jokes that he probably holds a Guinness World Record for the most time spent in a casino by a minor.
Vegas World preceded the Strat
“I basically went to Vegas World every day after school for most of my life,” Stupak said in a recent phone interview. “If I wanted to see my parents, that’s where I had to see them.”
Vegas World was Bob Stupak’s outer space-themed hotel-casino just north of Sahara Avenue on Las Vegas Boulevard that became the footprint for the construction of The Strat.
Bob Stupak was the master of the vacation package at Vegas World and when Steve Wynn expanded his gaming empire from the downtown Golden Nugget to The Mirage on the Strip, Stupak knew he needed something flashy at his property to complete.
Down Under idea
On a trip to visit his daughter in Australia, Bob Stupak saw the Sydney Tower, the tallest structure in that city and the second tallest building in the southern hemisphere. It inspired him to build his own “Stupak Tower” in Las Vegas at the Vegas World site.
Initially, Stupak wanted to build a tall sign marking Vegas World, but these plans eventually evolved into an observation tower.
“What I’m trying to do for Las Vegas is what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris, what the Empire State Building did for New York, what the Seattle Space Needle did for Seattle,” Stupak famously said in his proposals.
Stupak first took a proposal to build a 1,400-foot tower to the Las Vegas City Council, but the height was reduced by Federal Aviation Administration restrictions to just over 1,100 feet.
After initially trying to finance the construction of the tower himself, Stupak found investors among some of his poker-playing casino friends. One of those friends, Lyle Berman, who successfully managed and operated tribal casinos in his home state of Minnesota, supported the construction of the tower project.
Getting the tower built was not a smooth process.
In October 1991, the Las Vegas City Council approved the tower concept and ground was broken on November 5, 1991.
Local residents watched in amazement as the height of the tower rose during construction. Many believed that the tower would never be completed and that it would become a skyline.
Tower fire
Disaster struck in August 1993 when a fire broke out in the tower and players at Vegas World below had to be evacuated. When Stupak explained the difficulty of getting the project back on track, Berman and Grand Casinos came to the rescue and became 43 percent owners of the project.
It would take more than two years for the tower to be completed, and on opening night, Bob Stupak beamed as guests arrived.
“That was his moment,” Nevada Stupak said. “We didn’t know it at the time, but that night, opening night, was probably the pinnacle of his career.”
And Bob Stupak almost didn’t make it that night.
While construction was underway, on March 31, 1995 – 21 years to the day after he opened his first casino in Las Vegas – Stupak, also a professional motorcycle rider, died after crashing his Harley-Davidson while traveling at 60 mph. He broke every bone in his face and was in a coma for 12 days. Doctors did not expect him to survive.
“We weren’t sure he was going to make it,” Nevada Stupak said. “But he did, and I’m thankful he had such a good night at the opening.”
What Nevada Stupak remembers most about opening night is that he and some friends went up to the tower to enjoy thrill rides there.
“I have a photo with my sister and she was looking down with a look of horror on her face. Generally I ride every ride when they brought in a new one, but I drew the line at jumping off the side of the building.”
Bob Stupak envisioned several amusement rides at the top of the tower, including a roller coaster and a King Kong-themed ride with passengers inside a giant monkey that scales the exterior of the building. The High Roller Coaster was built, but was eventually removed, and the King Kong ride never became a reality.
But other rides – Big Shot, X-Scream, Insanity and SkyJump – exist to this day, terrorizing thrill seekers every day. There are also indoor and outdoor observation decks and a revolving restaurant, The Top of the World.
Josh Swissman, founding partner and managing director of Las Vegas-based GMA Consulting, said the Stratosphere was one of the developments that redefined the Las Vegas skyline and redirected attention to the North Strip from the south, where the Luxor had just opened.
“It also launched the Las Vegas thrill ride,” Swissman said. “After these rides opened, it was a different kind of crowd that came to enjoy the new experiences here.”
And Swissman said Bob Stupak was one of the last of the old-fashioned individual casino owners whose marketing strategy brought people to town to see some of the new attractions Las Vegas had to offer.
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