Desperado 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. 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). A hyper coaster, Desperado reaches a height of 209 ft, featuring a 225 ft drop, and is ranked as the seventh longest coaster in the world, featuring a track length of 5843 ft. It also is among the fastest hyper coasters, attaining a maximum speed of 80 mph, with riders experiencing up to 4 G's. A portion of the ride runs indoors through the main area of the 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.

History

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. Primm contracted Arrow Dynamics to build a highly visible roller coaster. The ride opened to the public on August 11, 1994, as one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world. The ride's 209 ft lift hill was the tallest in the world, second behind only the Pepsi Max Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England that opened the same year. Its drop length of 225 ft and top speed of 80 mph were tied in the country with Kennywood's Steel Phantom, which also featured a 225 ft drop and top speed of 80 mph. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Desperado in its 1996 publication as the tallest roller coaster in the world. For 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. 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. The casino reopened on December 23, 2022, but Desperado remained closed. In 2023, it was reported that the roller coaster would be part of a casino-wide refurbishment, in an effort to bring back previous guests. Casino general manager Jerry West stated that the ride had been kept properly maintained and functional during the nearly three-year closure, with test runs occurring regularly. He added that the coaster will be subject to a "sign-off process" involving legal and mechanical inspections before reopening.