Heart-Shaped Casino Hotel Permitted for Failed Ferris Wheel Site on South Vegas Strip

Clark County commissioners have signed off on plans for a new resort on one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most notorious dead zones — the former SkyVue ferris wheel site, whose massive twin concrete columns have stood untouched since 2011.

Developer Eli Applebaum, through Kulik River Capital, received approval Wednesday to build a 29‑story, heart‑shaped hotel‑casino featuring 752 rooms across from Mandalay Bay.

The plans call for a resort anchored by a heart‑shaped glass curtain wall wrapped in a full‑height LED display. The development would also include more than 42,000 square feet of convention space, a gaming floor, multiple restaurants, retail, a pool area, and a covered pedestrian plaza reminiscent of the Fremont Street Experience.

Applebaum purchased the nearly 12‑acre parcel this spring for $70 million from the family of Seattle businessman Wayne Perry, who acquired the land through a 2020 bankruptcy auction. Applebaum initially sought approval for an 874‑room tower but scaled the height back 60 feet to meet FAA requirements.

Vue to a Buzzkill

The site’s two unfinished support towers will be reinforced and incorporated into a 265‑foot‑high restaurant suspended above the property. Until now, the towers — dubbed “the pillars of sadness” by locals — have served only to memorialize the failure of SkyVue’s 500-foot “Las Vegas Super Wheel,” which was beaten to the same idea by a competitor with deeper backing: Caesars Entertainment’s High Roller.

Some media reports have expressed skepticism that such an ambitious project will see the light of reality, though MGM Resorts is said to be thrilled at the prospect of anything replacing the memorial to failure that Mandalay Bay guests have had to stare at for 15 years.

SkyVue was originally pitched in 2011 as a $100‑million‑plus entertainment complex featuring the wheel, a roller coaster, and a retail promenade. Construction began but stalled amid financial problems, leaving only the two concrete columns behind.