High Rolling at The Linq, Vegas' New Hotspot

PHOTO: The Linq (courtesy Ryan Rudnansky)

After attending Giada De Laurentiis’ tasting event and touring The Cromwell, several media members were given a walkthrough of the Linq, Caesar Entertainment’s new outdoor plaza.

Included in the 300,000-square-foot plaza are more than 30 retail, dining, nightlife and entertainment venues (70 percent restaurants and bars, 30 percent retail and entertainment). In the midst of all of this is the world’s tallest observation wheel, The High Roller.

I was able to take a ride on The High Roller, which reaches 550 feet up into the sky and includes 28 passenger cabins, each of which has the space to hold 40 people (for a grand total of 1,120 passengers). The world-famous attraction continuously moves one foot per second, meaning it has the ability to cram in 1,000 people in just 30 seconds time.

One thing you can be assured of if you ride The High Roller: You are going to get some great views of surrounding Las Vegas (when you are 550 feet from ground zero that’s sort of a given).

Along the way, a graphic will display how high above the ground you are, as benchmarks are periodically announced. Trivia questions will also scrawl across several TVs. Of course, an on-screen tour guide will also keep you entertained with jokes (The guide appears to have partaken in a bit too many extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean. He made sure to alert passengers when we had reached 420 feet). On top of that, The High Roller changes colors as it revolves, making it stand out even more at night.

What’s the difference between a Ferris wheel and an observation wheel?

Well, glad you asked. The cabins in an observation wheel are closed off and they never swing (don’t tell me you’ve never learned anything from me).  

After riding The High Roller for a full revolution (about 30 minutes), the media group headed off to Brooklyn Bowl, a bowling/live music venue based on the original hotspot in New York City.

And I gotta say, Brooklyn Bowl impressed me.

Whether you like bowling or live music, chances are you will like Brooklyn Bowl (if you like both bowling and live music like me you will be in heaven). Highlighting the venue’s entrance: a disco ball and a golden statue of a man holding an electric guitar in one hand and a bowling ball in the other.

Brooklyn Bowl boasts 32 bowling lanes, five bars that serve food, a large-scale live music area, VIP lounges and an outdoor patio on the second floor.

The patio boasts sofas for guests to sink into, vines hanging down from the rooftop and telescopes set up right above the main Linq walkway (perfect for people watching).

Each bowling lane comes complete with its own large flat screen TV broadcasting the venue’s live music.

Brooklyn Bowl has also built up quite the reputation based on its band list. O.A.R. was playing when our media group toured the venue, and Gogol Bordello was set to play the next night. Other bands scheduled to play at Brooklyn Bowl this year include Primus, Jane’s Addiction, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Thievery Corporation, Steve Winwood, Spoon, The Avett Brothers and The String Cheese Incident. The popular Bombino had played a couple days before we arrived.

Oh yeah, and Las Vegas’ Brooklyn Bowl encompasses nearly 80,000 square feet, making it four times the size of the original. It has enough space to host more than 2,000 concert goers.

Safe to say it was a fitting spot to finish off my latest Las Vegas trip in style.

Follow me on Twitter @RyanRudnansky