<P> The water park was located on the Las Vegas Strip, between the Sahara and El Rancho hotel - casinos . Wet' n Wild opened on May 18, 1985, after $14 million was spent on construction . The park included three turbine engines capable of creating rolling four - foot waves in a 170 - foot pool . The park also featured a 17,000 - square - foot surf lagoon containing 500,000 gallons of water, ranging in depth from eight feet to two inches . The surf lagoon was a main attraction, as well as a 76 - foot - high water slide known as the Der Stuka, located along Las Vegas Boulevard on the property's west end, south of the Sahara . Approximately 500,000 people were expected to visit the water park during its first year . By June 1986, park attendance had increased 19.7 percent from the previous year . A capsule known as the Bomb Bay was eventually added atop the Der Stuka . The Bomb Bay required people to push a button, which opened the floor beneath them, plummeting riders to the slide approximately 20 feet below . </P> <P> In 1993, the park was sued by Russell Beatty, a man who suffered temporary paralysis after his neck was broken in three areas . Beatty had been waiting for his son at the bottom of the Hydro Blaster water slide and was struck by a 275 - pound man . Beatty alleged that lifeguards allowed the man to go down the slide too soon, resulting in the injury . </P> <P> The park was acquired by Universal Studios in October 1998, Ogden Corp in March 1999, Alfa SmartParks in March 2000, and Palace Entertainment on July 10, 2002 . The park closed in 2004 . </P> <P> In March 2007, Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Christopher Milam announced plans to purchase the site for $1.2 billion . They intended to replace it with a mixed - use tower called the Crown Las Vegas . The cost of the project was estimated to be $5 billion, and its original completion date was set for 2014 . In March 2008, the project's cancellation was announced and the site was put up for sale . </P>

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