In February 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Buffalo Bill’s Casino was temporarily closed, along with Desperado and their log flume which closed indefinitely. įor his Top Secret special that first aired on February 24, 1999, magician Lance Burton 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. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Desperado in its 1996 publication as the tallest roller coaster in the world. Its drop length of 225 feet (69 m) and top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h) were tied in the country with Kennywood's Steel Phantom, which also featured a 225-foot (69 m) drop and top speed of 80 mph (130 km/h). The ride's 209-foot-tall (64 m) lift hill was the tallest in the United States, second behind only the Pepsi Max Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England that opened the same year. The ride opened to the public on August 11, 1994, as one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. Primm contracted Arrow Dynamics to build a highly visible roller coaster.

Gary Primm opened a casino called Buffalo Bill's on May 14, 1994, and he wished to attract people driving on adjacent Interstate 15 to his new casino. Since February 2020, and the COVID-19 lockdowns, Desperado has been closed and not operating, but still receiving monthly maintenance checks and test runs from ride technicians.

Ī portion of the ride runs indoors through the main area of the casino.

It also is among the fastest hyper coasters, attaining a maximum speed of 80 mph (130 km/h), with riders experiencing up to 4 G's. A hyper coaster, Desperado reaches a height of 209 feet (64 m), featuring a 225-foot (69 m) drop, and is ranked as the seventh longest coaster in the world, featuring a track length of 5,843 feet (1,781 m). Designed by Arrow Dynamics and fabricated by Intermountain Lift, Inc., Desperado was one of the tallest roller coasters in the world when it opened in 1994, being listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's tallest roller coaster (for 1996). Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train.ĭesperado is a steel roller coaster located at Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino in Primm, Nevada, United States, a part of the Primm Valley Resorts complex, straddling the state borders of California and Nevada.

Casino themed coasters