All language subtitles for Building Giants Series 2 Part 4 Vegas High Roller 1080p

Narrator: Towering 550 feet high
over las vegas,

This is north america's
largest observation wheel,

The high roller.

Because of building in vegas,

It requires you to build
the biggest and the best.

Narrator:
Las vegas's most popular
attraction must keep turning

In order to give
the thousands of tourists

Who travel to this city
the ride of their lives.

It's going to be a busy,
busy night.

How did engineers build
this mega wheel in the sky?

And how does it deliver

One of the most
spectacular views in the world?

We wanted our guests
to feel like

They were floating in space.

Narrator: We unlock the
engineering secrets

That help the high roller
wow the crowds,

From its one-of-a-kind
single rim

To ingenious spherical cabins

That stay perfectly level
through every rotation,

To reveal what it takes to build
the ultimate observation wheel.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Both: Welcome to las vegas!

♪

With its bright lights, hotels,
and casinos, sin city

Is one of the most famous travel
destinations in the world.

40 million tourists
head to the city

That never sleeps to gamble,
watch spectacular shows,

And take in the glitz
and glamour of the town.

They spend close to $35 billion
each year.

And the competition between
hotel casinos

Vying for a bigger share
of the profits is fierce,

Building more
spectacular attractions

To draw in larger crowds.

♪

To stand out,

Caesars entertainment
decided to build big.

They constructed this --

♪

The las vegas high roller.

Costing $300 million to build,

This mega structure now defines
the las vegas skyline.

♪

It's built to
revolutionary design...

And requires a team of skilled
mechanics to keep it moving...

In an effort to provide
adventure seekers

With unrivaled views
of the city.

The high roller is loaded
with innovative technology

Hidden under the hood
to help wow the crowds

And give them
an unforgettable experience.

♪

28 temperature-controlled
spherical cabins

Stay perfectly level
as the wheel spins.

Its unique, single-rim design
provides unobstructed,

360-degree views
across las vegas.

And a mighty hydraulic arm
comes to the rescue

If the power goes out.

All these elements combine
to make the high roller

The ultimate observation wheel.

General manager eric eberhart
led the team

Tasked with making
the high roller a reality.

Because of building in vegas,
it requires you to build

The biggest and the best
and offer something the guests

Cannot experience
anywhere else in the world.

We really pushed our designers
and engineers

To create a world-class
attraction that's unique

And push the boundaries
of observation wheels.

Narrator: It's spring break.

An estimated 800,000 people
will descend on vegas

Looking for a good time.

And this long weekend promises
to test this wheel's

Strength
and revolutionary design.

The wheel must complete
130 rotations,

Each taking 30 minutes,

And carry thousands of people
over the next four days...

Stopping for just six hours each
night for critical maintenance.

Breakdowns will damage
caesars' reputation

And potentially drive
away visitors eager

To spend their money
at the casino's gambling tables.

So the pressure is on.

♪

Thursday, 8:00 p.M.

The first night
of the long-weekend rush begins.

High roller's entrance hall
fills with tourists eager

To glimpse the wonder
of las vegas at night.

The first challenge for building
a wheel this big

Is how to keep the 550-foot-tall
mega-wheel framework stable.

The narrow single-rim frame
doesn't look tough enough

To support its
7.3-million-pound

Steel structure.

High roller's strength
is the result

Of a ground-breaking innovation
built into its dna.

1893.

Engineer george ferris unveils
the world's first great wheel

At the chicago world's fair.

♪

To keep the wheel strong
but lean,

Ferris pioneers a spoke design

That becomes the blueprint
for almost all later wheels,

Including the high roller.

The cables hold up the bottom
half of the rim.

Their tension pulls
the rim inwards.

This allows the top half
to support itself,

Like the arch of a bridge.

These two forces work together
to keep the entire rim strong

And rigid as the wheel rotates.

But erecting a structure
this tall

And thin is a unique
construction challenge.

♪

If engineers build high roller
from the bottom up,

The cables support half
the wheel's structure.

But building the top half
unsupported will over-stress

The rim and trigger
a structural collapse.

♪

One solution is to support
the wheel

With a scaffold 550 feet tall.

But scaffolding this narrow
is unstable.

Its footprint needs to cover
a huge area

To stop it from falling over.

Additionally, framework this
massive would encroach

On neighboring roads
and buildings.

How do you build north
america's tallest wheel

Without building the
continent's largest scaffold?

Project manager randy printz
must find the solution.

Logistically, this was
a very challenging project.

We've got two major hotels
that had to remain in operation.

We had to keep a roadway
in operation

Because it was an emergency
fire access

Throughout this entire project.

Narrator:
Randy's only option is to
build high roller vertically,

But with one
critical modification.

♪

His team deploys
an innovative solution

To stop the wheel from
collapsing under its own weight

As they build upwards.

♪

First, they fix a pair
of 223-foot-long metal struts

To the wheel's central spindle.

Then they attach the first
53-foot-long section

Of the rim...

And the cable spokes.

Next, powerful hydraulic jacks

Push the completed segment
around by 13 degrees.

Engineers
then repeat the process,

Joining together more struts,
rims, sections, and cables.

The rotating wheel
stays rigid and stable

As it's assembled
segment by segment.

♪

Once all 28 rim sections
are in place,

Engineers fit and tension

The last of the wheel's
112 steel cables.

They remove the struts
one by one...

Until the wheel supports its own
weight on the central spindle.

When that last strut came out,
I think it validated

For all of us
the designers' vision.

There you had this purely
circular form

Redefining the vegas skyline.

And we went, "wow."

♪

Narrator: Today the high roller
is a las vegas landmark,

Visible from anywhere
in the city.

On the first night
of spring break,

The high roller carries
thousands of people

Visiting sin city
for the long weekend.

But a new day brings
new challenges

The super wheel must face.

How does this monster machine

Stand up
to damaging desert winds?

And what is the engineering
secret that gives

The wheel spectacular,
near-unobstructed views?

♪

♪

Narrator: It's Friday morning
in las vegas,

The second day of one of
the city's busiest weekends --

Spring break.

The high roller
observation wheel

Takes over a million tourists
a year on rides above the city,

And passenger numbers
are especially high

During busy holidays.

Everybody stepping aboard
is a potential customer

For caesars palace
hotel and casino.

So the wheel must deliver
the ride of their lives.

We always wanted to make
the high roller

The biggest
and the best in the world.

We were somewhat limited.

The major international airport,
mccarran,

Is less than
five miles from here,

So the federal aviation
administration limited

The height
that we could go to.

So we took it right to the limit
of 550 feet.

Narrator:
Size is just one objective
for high roller's designers.

The bigger reward is to make
engineering history

By building the first wheel
in the world with unobstructed,

360-degree views
from every spherical cabin...

♪

At every point of rotation.

All big observation wheels,

From ferris' original
to the singapore flyer,

Are actually two wheels
bolted together.

25-foot-wide trusses join
the two rims of the london eye.

This means,
for most of the rotation,

The wheel's physical structure
blocks passengers' sight line

From one side of the capsule.

Only when a capsule reaches
the very top do visitors inside

Enjoy an uninterrupted view.

♪

To accomplish the dream
of near-unobstructed views,

High roller's engineers
simply removed one entire rim

And all the trusses.

Eberhart: We eliminated most
of the visual obtrusions

To really give you
the sensation of floating.

And it gives you a full
360-degree view.

Narrator:
The effect is a big hit
with spring-break vacationers.

But building the observation
wheel with just one rim

Leaves this giant vulnerable
to the forces of nature.

The traditional two-rim design
of wheels like the london eye

Make their structure stiff.

It's this stiffness
that keeps these wheels

Rigid in strong winds.

[ wind blowing ]

Removing one rim
reduces stability.

In strong winds,
there's a big risk

A single-rim design could flex.

The bending wheel could hit
critical infrastructure...

And over-stress its cables
to the point where they snap

And risk
a catastrophic collapse.

♪

Las vegas sits in a valley
in the mojave desert.

This dry, sandy region leaves
the city vulnerable

To strong winds.

High roller's team monitors
the speed of the wind

From this
dedicated control room.

Good.

Can you pull up the weather
so we can check it

Real quickly, please?

Sure.

Low wind speeds today.
That's good.

The days preceding this weekend,
we had quite high wind gusts

Coming through
the las vegas alley.

Some gusts were as high
as 60 miles an hour.

Narrator: In theory,
winds this fast could fracture

A single-rim wheel...

And shatter the illusion
of floating on air.

♪

To eliminate the natural flex
in a single-rim design,

High roller's engineers
devise a creative solution.

They extend the length of the
central spindle to 98 feet...

Nearly 4 times the size of
the spindle on the london eye.

This widens the angle at which
the cables pull on the rim

From either side,
just like the guy ropes

On a guy ropes
on a triangular tent.

The longer central spindle
makes the high roller as rigid

In high winds as traditional
double-rim wheel design.

The wheel may stand firm
in undesirable weather,

But strong wind gusts
still have the potential

To ruin the experience
for the thousands of tourists

Riding high roller
this holiday weekend.

Wind vibrates the tubular legs

That support modern
observation wheels.

This movement can rock the rim,
shake the capsules,

And make passengers
nervous and sick.

Hidden inside the support legs
is high roller's secret

For beating
the unpleasant motion

To guarantee a smooth ride
every time.

Any sudden movement is gonna
detract from this experience

Of basically serenely floating
in the air

As you go around
and look at las vegas.

We needed to do whatever
we could to make

That experience
as smooth as possible.

Narrator:
Engineers fit special devices
called tuned mass dampeners

To combat vibrations.

Each of the 13 dampeners

Consists of a weight of up
to 132 pounds

Suspended by cables,
attached to tuned springs.

Together, they counteract
vibrations caused by wind

And give passengers the
sensation of floating on air.

By 2:00 p.M. On Friday,
this windproof wheel

Has spun hundreds
of spring-break tourists

High above vegas
and the mojave desert.

It's amazing.

I mean, I did get
the butterflies

In the stomach a little bit.

I've gambled and lost
a lot of money.

When you go out,
you enjoy some good food.

But this is totally different
than anything

That I've done in vegas.

Narrator:
As the sun sets on sin city,

Friday night promises
to bring even larger crowds.

How did engineers build
this huge structure

To fit in the middle
of crowded real estate?

And what is the engineering
secret for turning

A 7.3-million-pound mega wheel?

♪

♪

Narrator: 8:00 p.M.,
Friday night in las vegas.

Tonight high roller must
spin close to full capacity,

Carrying over 1,000 passengers
every 30-minute rotation.

It must keep turning
to draw crowds,

Driving business to caesars'
restaurants and casinos

On one of the busiest
long weekends of the year.

As darkness descends,
las vegas lights up,

And so does
this city's big wheel.

♪

The wheel is lit with more
than 2,000 l.E.D.S

That create visually
stunning displays,

Turning the wheel
into a beacon visible

From anywhere in the city.

Obviously, las vegas
is the city of lights,

And there was no doubt

That we had to put on
a very special show

When we opened up
the high roller.

Narrator: At this point
in the long weekend,

This 550-foot-tall wheel
has completed 72 rotations

And carried thousands
of tourists.

♪

A wheel this high must stay
perfectly vertical

At all times
to run smoothly.

High roller must have
a rock-solid foundation,

Or there's a risk
the mighty metal ring

Could come crashing down.

♪

Traditional wheels stand
on a-frame structures

Angled outwards.

The guarantee stability
by spreading the wheel's weight

Over a bigger area

And lowering the structure's
center of gravity.

But to build wide legs,
you need space,

And space is in short supply
in this part of vegas.

High roller's construction site

Is located in the middle
of prime real estate.

It sits in an area
crammed with obstruction --

A nearly 205,000-square-foot
retail development,

The intersection
of two busy roads,

And a section of
las vegas' raised monorail.

These obstacles restrict
high roller's engineers

To a construction footprint
of only 213 feet by 72 feet.

The problem is, no matter how
they position the high roller,

The giant wheel
cannot fit on the site

Without hitting a building

Or standing
in the middle of the road.

Borrowing design elements from
other famous observation wheels

Is not an option.

21st-century wheels
like the london eye

And singapore flyer
stand in less cluttered areas,

With space
to stretch their legs.

Engineers must come up
with a solution

To fit high roller
inside its tiny footprint.

They turn the wheel's legs
to angle inward

So they touch the ground

Within a narrow
15,400-square-foot area.

The wheel is solid
along its north/south axis.

But its narrow stance
makes it unstable

Along its east/west access.

Engineers build an ingenious
fifth leg

Out from the central spindle
to secure the wheel.

It reaches over
the neighboring road

And touches down
in a nearby parking lot.

Five points of contact
with the ground

Gives high roller
perfect balance.

♪

Once workers complete
its foundations in mid-2012,

It takes another two years

To finish the wheel's
mighty structure.

In order to complete the high
roller on time and on budget,

It had to be a very
well-choreographed operation.

Printz: We literally
had parts and pieces

Coming from all
over the world --

Steel from china, glass from
the cabins from Italy.

We had to coordinate an enormous
amount of material

Coming into this site,

Getting brought in just
at the right time.

Narrator: It takes over
25,000 feet of cables,

Over 4 million pounds
of steel tubes, 28 capsules,

Each weighing
over 59,000 pounds,

And a workforce of 600

To construct
the ultimate observation wheel.

Building anything on this scale,
it's quite an endeavor

And quite challenging, but
it is also extremely rewarding.

♪

Narrator:
By the end of Friday night,
the super-stable high roller

Has spun thousands
of spring-break vacationers.

But tomorrow promises to be the
busiest day of the long weekend.

What innovation will drive

The 7.3-million-pound wheel
nonstop for 16 hours?

And what's the secret to
keeping high roller turning

Even when the power goes out?

♪

♪

Narrator:
In las vegas, the high roller
has spun thousands of people

Over the first 48 hours
during one of the most

Popular travel times --
spring break.

During the off-season,

Rider numbers
can double over the weekends.

This Saturday evening promises
to be even busier.

♪

Operations director
carolyn gargiulo's job

Is to ensure the wheel's
ready to meet the demand.

Gargiulo:
It is a Saturday night, which is
typically extremely busy

For the high roller,

And we have a private event
on top of that

And then, of course,
our general-admission guests.

It's going to be a busy,
busy night.

We will be stressed to our max
and pushed to our limits.

Narrator:
Tonight high roller must spin
close to 1,100 people

Every half-hour rotation.

Driving the vertically
mounted 7.3-million-pound

Nonstop mega wheel is
a huge engineering challenging.

The center of the wheel is the
obvious location for a motor,

But rotating high roller
from its spindle

Is a recipe for disaster.

The huge torque required to move
the mega wheel

Could snap high roller's cables.

The solution is to power
the wheel from its rim,

Which reduces the load
on the cables

And create an innovative,

State-of-the-art
propulsion system.

Unlike other observation wheels,

Engineers deploy a rugged
propulsion system

To keep high roller
constantly moving.

Eight units fitted with
four large truck tires

Pinch shafts attached
to both sides of the rim.

A 127-horsepower motor
powers each tire unit

To drive the wheel around.

It's critical the system
works flawlessly to cope

With the crowds
during this high-demand weekend.

Printz: Reliability is key
for this attraction.

One of the critical elements
in maintaining this reliability

Is the maintenance that has
to take place every night,

365 days a year.

Narrator: At 2:00 a.M.,
the wheel closes,

And high roller's dedicated
maintenance team gets busy.

Senior mechanic david pinkerton
must ensure the tires and motors

For the propulsion system
are in perfect condition.

Pinkerton:
When we're checking the tires,
we're looking for cracks,

We're looking for bubbles,
we're looking for low tread,

We're looking for
low tire pressure.

Alright, josh,
let off a little bit.

Looks good there, josh.

Narrator:
David and his team must
complete all repairs

During this downtime.

Failing tires
while the wheel is running

Could force high roller
to shut down

And seriously damage
its reputation.

So, it's all done?
All the tires are good?

Yep.
They're clear.

Once the tires are ready
to roll,

The team checks the motors.

If any of them fail, the big
wheel has built-in redundancy

To keep turning at its normal
speed of one foot per second.

We run with all eight drive
units at one time.

We could operate
with six drive units.

If we lose two more drive units
after that,

Then we're in half-speed.

Narrator:
In case of a power failure,
high roller's engineers

Have built in a backup generator
to keep the motors running.

But there's always the risk
an unexpected event

Could cut both electric
and diesel power

And bring the big wheel
to a grinding halt.

♪

In the unlikely event the high
roller loses all power,

It can fall back
on an ingenious failsafe.

Two independent diesel motors
power a pair

Of 10-foot-long hydraulic arms.

The front arms grip the wheel's
rim and push it around.

At the same time,
two back arms extend,

Grip the rim,
and pull the wheel.

Repeating the sequence
rotates the wheel smoothly.

Using this system,
workers can rescue

All of high roller's passengers
in just two hours.

♪

David and his team test
the system

To ensure it will work
in the worst-case scenario.

♪

The hydraulically powered arms
spring into action.

They grab the wheel
and pull it around.

The system works
without a hitch.

It's Saturday night of the long
spring-break weekend,

And the party is in full swing.

Five minutes left, guys!
Five minutes!

[ cheers ]

High roller is going strong.

With only 24 hours left until
the end of the weekend,

The wheel must deliver
a spectacular experience

Every ride
to keep wowing the crowd.

What ingenious technologies help
the spherical cabin

Stay perfectly level at every
point of high roller's rotation?

♪

Narrator: It's 10:00 a.M.,
Sunday morning,

The last day of the long
spring-break weekend.

Eager tourists line up for
las vegas' star attraction --

The high roller.

♪

Over the next 15 hours, it must
fly thousands more people

Above the city's
world-famous skyline.

♪

Currently, the temperature
this morning

Is a pleasant 77 degrees,

But that can change
quickly in the desert.

And ensuring this wheel
can survive

Las vegas's extreme climate

Is a huge challenge
for high roller's engineers.

In spring, the temperature
can reach a steamy 95 degrees.

If made from regular glass,
temperatures this hot will turn

The high roller's
28 spherical cabins

Into mini greenhouses,
frying their occupants.

So the wheel's designers build
in the ultimate

See-through barrier
to beat the heat.

A special coating reduces
the penetration

Of the sun's energy
into the cabins.

Hand-made double-paned glass
stops heat radiation

From passing into the interior.

Another challenge facing
the wheel's engineers

Is how to create the sensation
of floating in the sky.

It's critical the capsule
stay perfectly level

At every point
in the high roller's rotation.

The cabins on early ferris
wheels hang from axles

Attached to the rim.

These pivots rely on gravity
to keep the cabins level.

But this design makes
for a rocky ride.

♪

Traditional cabins move freely
around the axles

That suspend them
from the wheel frame.

This leaves the passengers
inside vulnerable

To feeling every bump caused by
the wheel's turning mechanism...

And puts the cabins
at the mercy of strong winds.

Both factors provide
an uncomfortable experience.

And for most of the ride,
the structure of the wheel

Itself obstructs the view
from the cabins.

♪

To solve these problems,
high roller's designers

Take gravity out
of the equation.

They use support struts
called v-legs to fix each cabin

To the outside of the rim.

But doing this has the potential

To jeopardize
the passenger experience.

Fixed cabins will turn
upside down

As the wheel turns 360 degrees.

To solve the problem,
engineers grip each cabin

With an ingenious gear system.

As the high roller spins
in one direction...

The cabins rotate
in the opposite direction

To stay level.

To make sure the cabins turn
exactly the right amount

Relative to the big wheel,
engineers fit each one

With a toothed,
17-foot-long ring.

An attachment arm connects
the ring to a cog.

As the wheel turns, the cog's
teeth turn the cabin ring.

This makes sure that every cabin
always stays level,

No matter where it is
on the wheel.

The system means engineers
can mount the cabin

On the wheel's exterior.

This guarantees passengers can
experience spectacular,

Uninterrupted views
of las vegas.

Eberhart:
One of the best ways to find out
if you're actually moving

Or turning is to watch
the relationship to the v-leg.

Here, the v-leg is holding us
by the side.

When we first loaded, it
was supporting us from the top.

And when we were at the top
of the ride,

We were actually sitting on
top of the v-leg.

So, as you're
making your trip around,

Not only is the cabin
doing a 360-degree turn.

The wheel on the rim itself
is doing a 360-degree turn.

Narrator:
Every year, high roller spins
over a million visitors

Above sin city
inside its perfectly leveled,

Temperature-controlled
spherical cabins.

Whoo-hoo!

1:00 p.M., Sunday.

The long spring-break weekend
is coming to an end.

Over the past 60 hours,
the 7.3-million-pound wheel

Has completed over
100 full rotations.

But with a late passenger surge
expected this evening,

It can't afford
to break down now.

What near-frictionless
engineering

Keeps this wheel turning?

And what stops damaging
desert sand

From bringing it
to a grinding halt?

♪

♪

Narrator:
It's Sunday afternoon
in las vegas.

The spring-break long weekend
is almost over.

In the last 72 hours,
the mighty high roller wheel

Has spun thousands of tourists
over sin city.

♪

Rotating around its 98-foot-long
spindle continuously

For 16 hours
is an epic engineering feat

For an observation wheel
this large.

The rim, capsules, cables,
and hub

Weigh 7.3 million pounds,
equivalent to 15 blue whales.

♪

This much weight
turning on the spindle

Creates massive friction.

Metal grinding on metal risks

Catastrophic
mechanical breakdowns.

It's critical the moving metal
parts slip past each other

With the least amount
of friction possible.

In early 2013,
engineers installed a pair

Of 7.5-foot-long
roller bearings.

Each one locks 60 free-moving
roller elements

Within two steel rings.

They sealed
the 19,800-pound bearings

Inside the 16-foot-tall
steel cable anchors.

A giant crane lifted each one
260 feet off the ground

To their final positions
on the support legs.

The installation
of the bearings, hub,

And spindle took two months
to complete.

♪

The high roller's desert
location creates a major problem

For machines
with big moving parts.

Strong winds blow sand and dust
across las vegas.

If these abrasive particles
build up inside

The roller bearings,

They will damage the engineered
metal components...

And the wheel could come
to a grinding halt.

♪

Mechanic bryan arellanos
is responsible

For keeping
the mighty bearings clean.

During crucial maintenance
shifts,

Brian and a co-worker
ascend 270 ladder steps...

Into the very heart
of the wheel.

Right now we're actually inside
of the hub of the high roller.

This is a static spindle
that stays still.

On the other side of this seal
is the bearing itself

That's connected to the hub.

And if the wheel were to be
moving right now,

We'd be rotating
with the hub itself.

Narrator: High roller's secret
to beating the grit is grease --

And lots of it.

Every day, automatic pumps
inject 2.2 pounds

Of lubrication grease
into the sealed

Housing containing
the roller bearings.

This constant flow of grease
flushes out any particles

That could grind
the metal components.

If the oozing grease contains
foreign particles,

Bryan knows the roller bearing's
seal is broken and needs fixing.

All around us is the bearing,
and this system right here

Is where our grease
pump pumps the grease into.

And this is where the excess
grease gets flushed out.

Narrator:
The team regularly sends
samples of grease

To a laboratory
for inspection.

But bryan is the first line
of defense.

We do check it every week,

And if we can see something
with our naked eye,

We know there's an issue
with the high roller.

We don't see any kind of
foreign material in there.

We don't see any air pockets.

And overall it looks
pretty good.

♪

Narrator:
5:00 p.M., Sunday.

A rush of last-minute riders
board the high roller.

The mighty wheel is on its final
leg of this epic long weekend.

We had a very successful weekend
thanks to our team.

Because we were fortunate enough
to create a las vegas icon,

Now the pressure is on us
to make sure we maintain it

And continue to operate
for the next 50-plus years.

Narrator:
High roller soars higher,
works harder,

And carries more passengers

Than any other wheel
in north america.

Built into its huge frame are
a series of engineering marvels

That make it the pinnacle
of observation-wheel design.

Innovative building techniques
make construction possible

Within a crowded
urban landscape.

The unique support frame anchors
the mighty structure

To a tiny footprint.

The one-of-a-kind,
single-rim design

Stays rigid
in the strong desert winds.

A diesel-powered hydraulic arm
keeps the wheel turning

If the electricity fails.

Precisely geared
temperature-controlled cabins

Stay perfectly level
around every rotation.

The high roller is built to be
the ultimate mega wheel.

♪