LAS VEGAS -- There will soon be something different in the skies over the Las Vegas Strip.

A two-ton balloon is the latest attraction to hit Las Vegas.

The helium balloon was inflated Wednesday night across from the Mandalay Bay Casino. More than 60 people were inflating the balloon that took two years to bring to the city.

“It’s definitely different,” said tourist Robert Leary.

Passing tourists only had a billboard to see as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, until a gust of air breathed new life into the city’s newest spectacle.

“I believe it will be love at first flight for everyone who rides,” said Kevin Michaels, of Cloud 9 Entertainment.

Michaels brought the 11-story high balloon to Las Vegas from Paris -- a move two years in the making.

“I knew I wanted to bring it here to Las Vegas, and now, finally, I’m able to do so,” Michaels said.

The balloon will hoist a group of 30 people 500 feet into the sky. The 10-minute ride and newest attraction has some tourists wondering, “What will they think of next?”

“We got a lot of strange things in Vegas. That’s what we come here for,” said one tourist.

The Cloud 9 Balloon, filled with 210,000 cubic feet of helium, is one of five helium-filled tourist balloons in the United States and one of 47 worldwide. Michaels said he is banking on big business -- but Vegas tourists are typically looking for one thing.

“Sure, why not? As long as they can hook a slot machine to it, I guess,” Leary said.

But there won’t be any slots up in the balloon.

“I guess while you’re up there, you won’t lose as much money,” said tourist Vinny Kuzan.

And at a cost of $4 million to bring the balloon to the Strip, Michaels said it’s not going anywhere but up.

“We’re setting up here for hopefully a long, long time,” Michaels said.

The attraction will be open to the public on Oct. 5.

The Cloud 9 balloon cannot fly in rain or winds over 22 miles per hour. It is close to McCarran Airport, and because of that, the balloon had to be signed off by the Federal Aviation Administration.