Nevada Casino lets it Ride

As you drive south on I-15 from Las Vegas towards Los Angeles, the view is serene. Save for a few lonely cacti, the desert extends in all directions until it meets brick-red, scraggly hills. This picture-perfect scene goes on for miles until... what IS that peculiar thing in the distance? Like a yellow phoenix rising from the sands, the incredibly tall, meandering track of the Desperado roller coaster punctures the blue sky. What is a hypercoaster doing in the middle of nowhere? And why is it in the middle of a casino?