Tourists began taking in the view of the Las Vegas Strip from the city’s new 550-foot observation wheel, the High Roller, Monday.

The High Roller’s height surpasses that of the 541-foot Singapore Flyer and the nearly 443-foot London Eye. It is expected to be the tallest in the world until planned Ferris-style wheels are completed in coming years in New York and Dubai.

Van Kim, an airline call center employee from Phoenix, stood in line for six hours to be in the first gondola for the 30-minute ride, and called the experience “unanimously awesome.”

Kim compared what he saw from the High Roller with the view from an observation deck at the 1,148-foot Stratosphere tower, just two miles away down the Strip. He said he liked the view better at the High Roller, which is located in the heart of the Strip between the Flamingo, Harrah’s, and renamed Quad hotel-casinos (formerly the Imperial Palace).  All of the properties are owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp.

“It’s probably the best view of the Strip,” Kim said.

The High Roller is part of a $550 million restaurant, bar, retail and entertainment development built by Caesars Entertainment Corp.

The outdoor pedestrian mall, called LINQ, is located across the Strip from the company’s flagship Caesars Palace resort. It features a walkway that leads to the High Roller. The Las Vegas wheel resembles a big white bicycle wheel with spoke-like cables, and is located between two stations of the nearly 10-year-old Las Vegas monorail line.

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