online craps casinos

The Sahara Checks Out

Posted on May 18th, 2011

News Sponsored by Online Vegas Casino

Rated 5 Stars by BestCraps.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

Mention the name of the Sahara Hotel & Casino and a reel of images flashes across your mind. Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Shirley Bassey, Connie Francis, Bill Cosby, Ann-Margret, Don Rickles, Bobby Darin, and a whole cast of celebrities whose names are as much a part of the casino-hotel as its famed onion-dome minaret.

Situated on a 22 hectare lot on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, the Sahara with 1,720 guest rooms and a 7,900 sq.m. casino, was built by Dell Webb and was opened in 1952 by Milton Prell. In 1987, a 27-story tower was added, as well as a second porte-cochere. 1999 saw the additions of a NASCAR restaurant, known for its 6 lb. 2 ft. burrito called “The Bomb” and the “roller coaster” called Speed – The Ride, a double linear motor shuttle loop roller coaster that accelerated to 110 kph. This attraction was designed by the architects Bergman Walls Associates. It would shoot riders from outside the hotel, along the Strip, loop through the Sahara sign, shoot straight up the tower and make a return trip.

Through the years, the Sahara has been associated with showbiz personalities and their activities. Known as one of the “Rat Pack” hotels on the strip, it was, in the 1970’s and the 1990’s, the venue for the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. The original version of Ocean’s Eleven was filmed at the Sahara, as was Clint Eastwood’s The Gauntlet in 1977. Ownership of the Sahara has changed hands several times throughout the years. Del Webb bought the hotel in 1961. In 1982, after running into financial problems, he sold it to Archon Corporation of Paul Lowden for $50 million. In 1995, Archon sold the Sahara to Bill Bennett, who owned it until his death in 2002. Bennett’s estate sold the property to the SBE Entertainment Group of Sam Nazarian in 2007 in a deal said to be worth between $300 and $400 million.

On May 16, 2011 at 12 noon, the last hotel guest checked out of the Sahara, and it closed its doors for good. Another victim of the patronage shift to the mega-sized casino-resorts, the Sahara, the sixth one to open on The Strip, followed in the footsteps of the other legendary hotels the Dunes, Stardust, New Frontier and Sands. This leaves only the Tropicana, Flamingo and Riviera among the storied hotels still in operation. About 1,600 jobs were lost with the closure of the Sahara. The employees affected are either angry, nostalgic or simply resigned. Some of the comments they made when interviewed were: “I’m retiring. I’m done. There are not too many people out there looking for a 66 year-old anyway.” – Michael McLendon, casino poker room supervisor “It sucks ..You have to be in your 20s to work in Vegas now. I left applications, they say they’ll call you, but they never call.” – Sheryl Reed, waitress in the NASCAR Cafe. “But you know, I’ve been in this business for 50 years, time’s up.” – Dennis Carade, front desk clerk One sad employee, who had worked at the Sahara all his life, even went to have the coin of the casino tattooed on his arm as a memento of better days.

Many guests are equally sad to see the Sahara go. One of them, a Strip habitue remarked, “It was a hotel with a human dimension, it had warmth.” Another said, “It was like home. The other hotels are way too big. There’s no contact, you can’t meet people, get to know them. And here you got to know the employees, they got to know you by name, it’s just very homey.” There have been reports that Nazarian plans to have his SBE Hotel Group manage the hotel, and the SBE Restaurant and Nightlife Group operate the food and beverage business. The casino is reportedly to be operated by the Navegante Management Group. This group currently runs the casinos of The Plaza, The Western, The Vegas Club and The Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas. But for now, the Sahara has checked out of the scene.