End of an era for Sin City as The Sahara, the grand old lady of The Strip, announces closing time

End of an era for Sin City as The Sahara, the grand old lady of The Strip, announces closing time

 

News that Las Vegas stalwart casino The Sahara is closing its doors with come as a nostalgic body blow for even the most emotionally bankrupt gambler in Sin City.

The hotel and casino, one of the first to offer a lounge act in the home of lounge acts - and frequented by a veritable Who's Who of hedonists - has announced that its time on The Strip is at an end.

The owners announced on Friday that one of the last postwar hotels still standing on the Las Vegas Strip will check its last guest out on May 16.

Grand old lady: The Sahara hotel and casino in Las Vegas will check its last customer out on May 16, the venues owners have announced

Old-school style: Scenes from the 1960 original Ocean's 11, starring Frank Sinatra and Patrice Wymore, was filmed in The Shara's casino area

Sam Nazarian, chief executive of the SBE Entertainment Group that owns and operates The Sahara, left open the possibility of reopening the property at a later date and said he would help the Sahara's employees seek new jobs.

But most industry insiders say that the hotel has a date with the wrecking ball.

Mr Nazarian said: 'While no final decisions have been made at this point, the continued operation of the aging Sahara was no longer economically viable.'

Nazarian's company acquired the Moroccan-themed Sahara in 2007, but the hotel has a history dating to 1952.

If the hotel and its 1,720 rooms are razed, as often happens with shuttered Strip properties, only the Flamingo and the Riviera remain from that era, said Las Vegas-based historian Michael Green.

The hotel's guests and performers over the years included Johnny Carson, Hollywood's 'Rat Pack', comedian Don Rickles and The Beatles.

It played host to the last public performance of Abbott and Costello, and was the venue for the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon throughout much of the Seventies.

Mr Nazarian said that his company 'ultimately will find a creative and comprehensive new solution for this historic property'.