| Sahara Hotel and Casino | |
|---|---|
| Address | 2535 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 |
| Opening date | October 7, 1952 |
| Closing date | May 16, 2011 |
| Theme | Moroccan |
| No. of rooms | 1,720 |
| Total gaming space | 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2) |
| Permanent shows | The Platters, The Coasters & The Marvelettes Roseanne Barr The Amazing Johnathan The Musical History of the King |
| Signature attractions | NASCAR Speed Zone Cafe |
| Casino type | Land-Resort |
| Owner | Stockbridge/SBE Holdings, LLC |
| Operating license holder | Navegante Management Group |
| Previous names | Club Bingo |
| Years renovated | 1960, 1963, 1996, 2003 |
The Sahara Hotel and Casino is a closed hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It was in operation for 59 years from 1952 to 2011. The hotel had 1,720 guestrooms and suites with a casino covering more than 85,000 sq ft (7,900 m2), and sits on 55 acres (22 ha) including the empty adjoining land. The hotel is the northernmost stop for the Las Vegas Monorail. The Sahara was the last remaining vintage "Rat Pack" casino-hotel, and anchored the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The porte-cochere entrance, topped by an onion-dome minaret, is designed to set the resort's warm Moroccan flavor and hospitality for arriving guests.
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The hotel was opened in 1952 by Milton Prell just outside of the City of Las Vegas, and was the sixth resort to open on the Strip. The resort was built by Del Webb.[1]
In late 1954, the hotel hired jazz musician Louis Prima to be their late night lounge act, one of the earliest ones on the Las Vegas Strip. Along with his then wife Keely Smith and sax player Sam Butera, they created one of the hottest late night attractions on the Strip. In 1956 Abbott and Costello appeared together for the last time on the Sahara stage before their permanent breakup.
In 1961, the hotel was purchased by Del Webb. In 1962, a Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened in the hotel, becoming a top attraction to not only hotel guests but a variety of celebrities as well. A 24-story tower was added in 1963 which made the hotel the tallest building in Las Vegas.[2]
The resort was the site of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for many years, mostly in the 1970s, and for a brief time in the 1990s.
Performers at the resort over the years have included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Benny, Paul Anka, George Carlin, Liza Minnelli, Violetta Villas, Shirley Bassey, Wayne Newton, Imogene Coca, The Platters, Connie Francis, Bill Cosby, Jeanette MacDonald, Ann-Margret, The Mills Brothers, Joey Bishop, Shelley Berman, Buddy Hackett, Helen O'Connell, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Kay Starr, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, The Drifters, Don Rickles, Bobby Darin, Teresa Graves, The Coasters, and many others. In 1964 the Beatles stayed at the Sahara and played two shows at the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center.
Del Webb ran into financial problems in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it sold the Sahara to Paul Lowden (Archon Corporation) for $50 million in 1982.
Ownership changed in 1995 when Archon Corporation sold the property to Bill Bennett. Bill Bennett owned the hotel until his death on December 22, 2002. The 27-story tower addition was added in 1987 and a new porte-cochere was added by the relocated pool in 1997.
In 1999 further renovations added a roller coaster and the NASCAR restaurant. The roller coaster, called Speed-The Ride, shoots riders from the hotel outside along the Las Vegas Strip, where it loops through the grandiose Sahara sign in front of the hotel, goes straight up a tower, stops and then takes a return trip backwards. Bergman Walls Associates were the 1999 architects.
Rumors of the Sahara's closure surfaced in the media in February 2006.[3] In a news article on June 30, 2006, it was reported that the Sahara site, as well as a defunct adjacent Wet 'n Wild property, were for sale.[4]
On March 2, 2007, Sam Nazarian and Stockbridge Real Estate Group signed an agreement to purchase the Sahara from the Bennett family. The transaction was said to be valued between $300 and $400 million for just the hotel/casino and its 17.45-acre (7.06 ha) lot. The deal does not include the 26-acre (11 ha) lot across the Strip from the Sahara and 11-acre (4.5 ha) lot east of the Sahara on Paradise Road.[5]
The Sahara shut its doors on May 16, 2011. SBE chief executive Sam Nazarian stated that the hotel was not "economically viable". Nazarian said that he would help some 1,600 hotel workers find new jobs. Its closure leaves only the Tropicana, Flamingo and the Riviera remaining from the post-World War II era.[6]
On May 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM PDT, the last hotel guest checked out of the Sahara Hotel and Casino, and the doors were officially closed at 2:00PM. This marked the end of a 59-year run on the Strip. According to the Sahara's website, any previous reservations would be honored at the Circus Circus.[1] NCL/National Content Liquidators began a liquidation sale on June 16th, 2011 of all items inside the property and continued until the property was completely empty.[7] The final day of the sale was September 4th, 2011.
On November 2, 2011 it was revealed that the Clark County Commission has approved renovations of the hotel casino. The property will be remodeled, rethemed, renamed and reopened.[8]
The 1960 version of Ocean's 11 was filmed here.
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