The Big Shot has been called “the greatest adrenaline rush on the planet”. It’s a Las Vegas fairground contraption that blasts you 160ft up into the air whipping your stomach from your boots to your hat and back.

If you could do one thing to propel you out of the daily workstation grind into a new world of sensations — fear, trepidation, exhilaration — you’d choose to ride the Big Shot. It’s the highest thrill ride in the world and as outlandish as the city that spawned it. Provided you can overcome the foreboding as you gaze up at what’s in store, you’re in for the ride of your life.

The Big Shot is located high above the Stratosphere casino, which incorporates North America’s tallest free-standing observation tower — at 1,149ft it is almost twice the height of London’s BT Tower. The ride starts from a vertiginous viewing platform at 921ft. There is space for 16 riders to be launched spacewards on a vicious compressed-air charge at four times the force of gravity.

It’s best to ride it in the dark when Vegas is at its showiest. First you pay $9.95 to ascend 100 storeys in a double-decker lift at an ear-popping 1,800ft a minute to the top of the tower. Then follow the screams and you’ll emerge on the roof. Far below, Vegas is like a seething carpet of pulsing light, and beyond is the blackness of the desert, with the distant mountains silhouetted.

The Big Shot towers over you, a needle disappearing into the stars, and as you queue to pay your $8 for the ride, you’ll hear the hiss of the compressor and watch people being led away ashen and grinning.

When your turn comes, you’ll step forward onto a narrow deck and choose a seat. “Three, two, one . . .” The countdown begins as everyone is still fumbling with their seatbelts, but it’s only a joke; the charge won’t fire until everyone is trussed up like a sacrificial chicken. Then the seat lifts and your feet leave the deck — with a roar the compressor suddenly lets fly. There’s a kick like all the mules in Mexico, your stomach is fired downwards and the earth blasts away between your feet. For 2.5sec you’re flying straight up at 45mph, your mind a confusion of extreme vulnerability, fear and horror.

At the top you float against your shoulder straps, then you’re back at the bottom and the charge blasts you up again like a ping-pong ball. On the third blast you’re held suspended at 1,081ft above the ground — 18ft higher than the Eiffel Tower — before being lowered gently back to the platform, your head still spinning.

Emma Torry, 26, an account manager from London, will never forget the ride: “It’s utterly, indescribably terrifying. You’re seeing stars because the blood drains from your head, and the extreme feeling of exposure to danger leaves you almost crying with fear.”

This is one of 125 so-called “space shot” rides in 25 countries, but they’ll all feel tame after this.

How to do it

What The Big Shot

Where The Stratosphere hotel and casino, 2000 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Nevada, USA

Why Because it’s the most gut-flipping adrenaline rush on the planet

Contact Tel: 001 702 380 7777 www.stratospherehotel.com

Vital statistics
Height at platform: 921ft
Top of Big Shot: 1,081ft
Vertical speed: 45mph

Cost Tower entrance $9.95 (£5.27), ride $8 (£4.24)

Getting there Only Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com) flies direct — departs London Gatwick. Fares from about £435

Where to stay There are hundreds of hotels. The Stratosphere itself costs from $39.99 (£21.20) during the week. There are nearly 2,500 rooms available but they’re sold out at weekends far in advance. For comprehensive information see www.visitlasvegas.co.uk