Construction of Stupak's $32 million Stratosphere observation tower began in February 1992, on property adjacent to Vegas World. On August 29, 1993, around midnight, hundreds of customers evacuated Vegas World when a fire broke out at the half-finished Stratosphere tower. Power went out shortly afterwards. According to employees, a hysterical woman ran through the casino screaming, "Bob Stupak did this for the insurance money!" Upon learning of the fire, Marty Allen (of the Allen & Rossi comedy show at Vegas World) and his wife arrived to keep evacuated customers entertained. Evacuated guests were allowed to return a few hours later, around 4:00 a.m.