Desperado is a

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...

located at the Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino in

Primm, Nevada Primm (formerly known as State Line) is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 where it crosses the state border between California and Nevada. It sits on I ...

, United States. The casino is a part of the

Primm Valley Resorts Primm Valley Casino Resorts (formerly known as Primadonna Casino Resorts) is a group of three hotel-casinos in Primm, Nevada, along Interstate 15 in Nevada, Interstate 15 at the California state line. They are owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. ...

complex. Designed by

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (194 ...

and fabricated by Intermountain Lift, Inc., Desperado was one of the tallest

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

s in the world when it opened in 1994 and was listed by the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the world's tallest roller coaster in 1996. The

hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ( ...

reaches a height of , features a drop, and is ranked as the seventh longest coaster in the world with a track length of . It also features a maximum speed of , and riders experience up to 4 g's. A portion of the ride runs through the interior of the casino. As of February 2020, Desperado is closed and not operating.

History

Gary Primm Gary Primm is a casino developer. He is the former chairman and chief executive of Primm Valley Resorts. Biography Primm grew up in San Marino, California. His father, Ernest Jay Primm, was an early developer of casinos. The town of Primm, Nevada ...

opened a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

called

Buffalo Bill's Buffalo Bill's is a hotel and casino in Primm, Nevada, Primm, Nevada, United States, at the California state line. It is one of the Primm Valley Resorts, owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. It has 1,242 guest rooms and suites. The hotel is home ...

on May 14, 1994, and he wished to attract people driving on adjacent

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...

to his new casino. Primm contracted

to build a highly visible roller coaster. The ride opened to the public on August 11, 1994, as one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. The ride's

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

was the tallest in the United States, second behind only the

Pepsi Max Big One The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a steel roller coaster located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the pub ...

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. It operates as a secure facility, and has introduced epayments via smartphones for admission charges, replacin ...

in England that opened the same year. Its drop length of and top speed of were tied in the country with Kennywood's Steel Phantom, which also featured a drop and top speed of . ''

The Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' recognized Desperado in its 1996 publication as the tallest roller coaster in the world. For his ''Top Secret'' special that first aired on February 24, 1999, magician

Lance Burton William Lance Burton (born March 10, 1960) is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people until retiring after 31 years in 2010. Professional history Burton first became interested in mag ...

staged a death-defying escape in a stunt where he was tied to the roller coaster's track and had to break out of handcuffs in order to escape.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desperado (Roller Coaster) Buildings and structures in Primm, Nevada MGM Resorts International Roller coasters introduced in 1994 Buildings and structures in Clark County, Nevada Roller coasters in Nevada Tourist attractions in Clark County, Nevada