SlotZilla Zipline Ride Downtown Gets Its First Showgirl

Downtown’s new zipline ride, SlotZilla, is making serious headway. How do we know? It finally got a showgirl.

No, she didn't steal bread in a Third World country. She's a work in progress.
No, she didn’t steal bread in a Third World country. She’s a work in progress.

SlotZilla is set to not only become the world’s largest slot machine, it will also be a two-tiered zipline, sending riders under the lighted canopy of Fremont Street Experience.

The top of SlotZilla is starting to take shape.
Fact: SlotZilla will never be shoplifted.

Construction delays have caused the zipline’s operators to push back the opening date (it was originally slated to open in June 2013), so it’s reassuring to see the ride’s main tower getting signage, decorative stars (Googie stars, to be specific, a style of art popular in the 1930s, pictured below) and, now, showgirls!

We could not be bigger fans of Googie stars.
We could not be bigger fans of Googie stars.

The first 35-foot showgirl (technically, 35-foot, 2 11/16-inch showgirl) to be installed is based upon an actual showgirl, Porsha Revesz, who appeared with former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman at public events for about seven years.

Her counterpart, Jennifer Johnson, will also be immortalized with a showgirl on the other size of SlotZilla.

Here are the real-life showgirls as SlotZilla was unveiled.

Jennifer on the left, Porsha on the right.
Jennifer on the left, Porsha on the right.

SlotZilla is an imposing presence downtown. It’s located on the east end of the Fremont Street Experience, between the Heart Attack Grill and Hennessey’s Tavern.

We're already feeling a little woozy.
We’re already feeling a little woozy.

When SlotZilla is finished, riders will have a choice of two levels from which to start their horrifying plummet toward Earth that some people seem to enjoy because it takes all kinds in this world. We realize we’re not in the majority on this one.

Any excuse to say Googie, we're taking it.
Any opportunity to say Googie, and we’re taking it.

SlotZilla’s lower level will be 70 feet up, and the landing platform will be about halfway down the Fremont Street Experience. The upper level, called the Zoomline, will be 100 feet up and will send riders 1,700 panic-inducing (sorry, exhilarating) feet to a platform in front of Golden Gate casino.

Oh, how they love to tease us.
Oh, how they love to tease us.

Bonus: On the Zoomline, riders will be prone (lying flat, face-downward) and be “power-launched” (as opposed to traditional ziplines, where gravity does all the work).

Here’s what SlotZilla will look like when it’s done.

Times a million. Approximately.
Times a million. Approximately.

Tickets are expected to be $20 for the lower level, and $30 for the Zoomline. Take a look at SlotZilla’s landing platforms, also in the works.

More updates to come! See more news about the SlotZilla Zipline in downtown Las Vegas.