The Stratosphere builders have had “high” hopes for this property since its groundbreaking in 1991. Today, the 1,149-foot-tall structure is the largest freestanding observation tower in the United States and second tallest in the Western Hemisphere behind the CN Tower in Toronto. Inside it, you will find the Stratosphere Sportsbook.
The Stratosphere hotel and casino, which finally opened five years later in 1996, is located within the city limits of Las Vegas and just a short distance from all the mega resorts and Las Vegas betting on the Strip.
The tallest structure in Vegas features a revolving restaurant and three thrill rides, plus a controlled-descent, bungee jumping-like experience where riders plummet almost three football fields attached to a high-speed wire. It costs $130 per jump, but the screams are free.
Stratosphere Sportsbook 101
For a resort that’s looking to draw guests and tourists with multiple heart-racing attractions, the Stratosphere Las Vegas sportsbook is certainly not one of them.
Stratosphere sports betting, which is located at 2000 South Las Vegas Boulevard, fails to make the grade is almost every category.
It’s a non-smoking venue, but the scents easily find their way into the Stratosphere sportsbook from the surrounding casino. It has seating, but it’s average at best with about 40 chairs and couches and room for 120 guests. There are two big screens on the main wall with dozens of smaller TVs around the area, but the picture quality is mediocre and the sound quality is poor.
One of the best sportsbooks in Las Vegas? Hardly. This would rank in the bottom third, especially when it’s compared to other venues at the north end of the Strip in the Wynn and Mirage or another nearby betting spot in the Westgate.
The Stratosphere sportsbook hours are the same every week, open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Players must be 21 years of age or older to wager anywhere in Nevada, including on Stratosphere entertainment esports on the William Hill Android App.
Pari-mutuel wagering, for horses and dogs, is available. This section, with individual monitors and desks, is located to the left of the main sportsbook area. Bettors for sports and horse racing can wager on the Stratosphere sportsbook odds at one of the four betting windows under the main viewing wall. Stratosphere sports lines are posted for the events of the day in the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB.
However, players can take their action online and bet on the exact same odds through the William Hill Android App. The platform is not available on iOS devices. Also, Stratosphere online sports betting is only active in the state of Nevada.
The Stratosphere does offer complimentary drinks in this betting area. The soft rules call for a $100 bet on sports and a $20 wager on the horses to earn a drink voucher, which is more than other off-the-Strip venues like South Point.
It’s Game Time at the Stratosphere
The Stratosphere sportsbook is available for parties for major championships like the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby and March Madness.
The venue also offers various pro football handicapping contests and Stratosphere Las Vegas sportsbook odds for the following sports:
- Pro and college football, including playoffs and Super Bowl
- Pro and college basketball, including playoffs and NBA Final
- Major League Baseball, including playoffs and World Series
- Mixed Martial Arts and UFC events
- Major soccer leagues from around the world
- Boxing, but mostly just major fights
- Hockey, including the playoffs and Stanley Cup
- Auto racing, with weekly race odds and Sprint Cup Championship futures
- Golf, with weekly odds and futures on all four majors
- Tennis, with odds on all four Grand Slam events
Here are some of the bets available at the land-based Stratosphere sportsbook:
- Money line
- Point spread
- Over/under totals
- Halftime lines
- Future betting
- Proposition bets, especially for the Super Bowl
- Parlays
- Teasers
There are even more betting options listed on the Stratosphere sportsbook online through the William Hill app, including “in-play wagering” where betting lines are listed for games already in progress. The odds keep changing throughout the game to the final score.
Location Near the Strip
Local residents have been calling this resort by an abbreviated name for years. In February 2019, plans were announced to join the crowd and rename the Stratosphere as The Strat Hotel, Casino and SkyPod.
The complex, which is owned and operated by Golden Entertainment, is located about midway from the Wynn at the north end of the Strip and the classic casinos in Downtown Vegas, which includes the Golden Nugget and The D.
- Guests arriving at McCarran International Airport will head south of the airport onto the highway, and then north of Interstate 15 to the Sahara Avenue exit. Head east to Las Vegas Boulevard and then north on the Strip to the Stratosphere.
- Those traveling on Interstate 15 from California will use the same Sahara exit and head east towards Las Vegas Boulevard.
- If this is your first time to Las Vegas, you can use city streets to take in some of the attractions on the Strip, but these roadways are often congested with traffic and construction.
Stratosphere Parking
Unlike most of the Strip casinos which are charging as much as $20 a day, the Stratosphere offers complimentary parking in its eight-floor garage.
- The first seven floors are available for parking as the roof is blocked off in this sketchy neighborhood.
- Parking garage entrance is located on Baltimore Avenue to the south of the property.
- There is a covered walkway on the third level to the hotel.
Public Transportation Options
Ride share programs and the Las Vegas transit system are the best budget-friendly bets for visitors staying at the Stratosphere. Ride share programs like Uber and Lyft are just a couple of clicks away on your mobile device. These apps, which are free to download, keep riders up-to-date on costs, time of arrival, and vehicle details. A one-way trip to your destination is likely to cost about two-thirds of a normal taxi fare.
- Pick up your ride share on the second level of the parking garage at the airport.
- There are thousands of taxis in Las Vegas, including a lengthy queue just outside the main terminal at the airport. A ride to the Stratosphere will cost around $35 by taxi and $20 by Uber.
- The bus system offers two services to the Stratosphere. The Express, which is a quicker service than the Deuce, stops every 15 minutes at the Stratosphere and runs from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight.
- The Deuce, which is a 24/7 service, stops about every 20 minutes at the resort.
- The Express route has fewer stops than the Deuce. It starts at the north outlet mall and runs south all the way down the Strip to the south outlet mall. It begins its return journey north from the South Strip Transfer Station.
- The Deuce route runs north and south from the Fremont Street Experience to Mandalay Bay.
- A two-hour bus pass for the Express is $6, 24-hour pass is $8 and a three-day pass is $20.
- Limousine services are available with the going rate around $85-90 an hour.
Food & Drinks at the Stratosphere
Top of the World restaurant on the 106th floor of the Strat tower offers pricey steak and seafood with unparalleled views of the area as the restaurant revolves 360 degrees every 80 minutes. It’s the high end of a wide range of culinary choices at this thrill-seeking resort.
There are many more eateries at the Stratosphere. Here is a sample of some at ground level and high in the sky:
- Tasty sandwiches and delectable treats dominate the menu at 108 Eats by James Trees, which is on Level 108 of the SkyPod.
- Blvd & Main Taphouse, located near the sportsbook, is a state-of-the-art beer house with elevated pub food.
- Did someone say drinks? There are a number of choices at the Stratosphere:
- View Lounge, open 24 hours a day, offers some of the best seats in the house at the adjacent sportsbook.
- 107 Sky Lounge takes drinking cocktails to another level — like Level 107 of the SkyPod.
Stratosphere Rewards
Guests of the Stratosphere and previous members of the resort’s acePlay rewards program are free to join Golden Entertainment’s program called True Rewards.
Golden runs nine casinos in southern Nevada, but the Strat is the only one in Las Vegas. Existing acePlay members are automatically moved into the new program as their cards are no longer active at the Stratosphere.
There are five tier levels in the program, starting with True. The next levels in order are Loyal, Solid, Legit, and Epic. Cardholders earn points through casino play and purchases made at bars, restaurants, shops, hotels, and other Golden partners.
There are other bonuses to accumulate points for members, including mystery multipliers and dividends for program loyalty.
Points which are earned throughout the calendar year can be used for cash, slot play and comps, such as a free stay at the Stratosphere.
Stratosphere Casino
The 80,000-square-foot casino floor at the Stratosphere draws a mix of tourists and locals with more than 1,300 slot machines and 54 table games. The gaming area is fairly dark and dated, but tourists like it because it’s budget friendly and locals like it because it’s not on the congested Strip.
Gamblers will enjoy the $5 table minimums and the fact that complimentary drinks are quite easy to come by from friendly servers. Some of the table games available to play include:
- Blackjack, tables play 3-2 odds on a 21, but with a $25 minimum bet.
- Roulette, with all wheels containing the standard two sets of zeroes.
- Craps, start at $5 minimum with standard rules.
- Baccarat, few tables with $10 minimum.
Other table games on the casino floor include: Three Card Poker, Pai Gow Poker, High Card Flush, and Heads Up Hold’em.
There’s a high limit room for slot players, with denominations as high as $25. The Strat also has a 10-table poker room, where players can go all-in daily from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Stratosphere Hotel and Tower
Bob Stupak’s World Famous Million-Dollar Historic Gambling Museum and Casino first opened on this site in 1974. A fire two months later ended those dreams and started another as Stupak opened Vegas World in 1979. That resort was then merged in 1993 and renamed the Stratosphere. Golden Entertainment, which purchased the resort in June 2017, announced plans for a major renovation and renamed the resort to the Strat in February 2019.
- The hotel, which is separate from the famous tower, is 24 stories tall.
- It has 2,427 generously sized rooms and 133 suites.
- Basic rates start as low as $26 a night, but it’s more than double that when the $33 resort fee is tacked on.
- Standard rooms, with one king or two queen beds, include flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi, although the speed of this service is a bit slow. Speed upgrades come with a fee.
- Standard rooms are 340 square feet, while the tower suites start at 574 square feet.
- Two outdoor pool options include a family-friendly area and a spot for adults only.
- Admission to the SkyPod tower is $20. Access to all three thrill rides (Insanity Ride, Big Shot Ride, and X-Scream Ride) all day is $39.
