60 year old Sahara closing doors

[stayouttadabunker]

This is always kinda sad...>>>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42036006/ns/travel-destination_travel/?GT1=43001

[jay]

 To close on May 15

* Company to help more than 1,000 employees find jobs (Adds details throughout, byline)

By Timothy Pratt

LAS VEGAS, March 11 (Reuters) - The Sahara hotel and casino, an iconic presence on the Las Vegas Strip that in its heyday played host to the "Rat Pack," will close its doors, the owners said on Friday.

The Sahara, which first opened in 1952 and is one of the last postwar hotels still standing on the the Strip, will be shuttered on May 15, said Sam Nazarian, chief executive of SBE Entertainment Group, which owns and operates the property.

Nazarian left open the possibility of reopening the Sahara, which has 1,750 rooms with a distinctive Moroccan theme and brightly-lit entrance capped by an onion dome, at a later date.

"While no final decisions have been made at this point, the continued operation of the aging Sahara was no longer economically viable," Nazarian said of the 60-year-old property.

Nazarian said in a statement that he would help the Sahara's more than 1,000 employees find new jobs. Workers were notified of the closing on Friday morning.

He said that his company "ultimately will find a creative and comprehensive new solution for this historic property."

If the Sahara is razed, as often happens with shuttered Strip properties, only the Flamingo and Riviera will remain from the postwar era, Las Vegas historian Michael Green told Reuters in an interview.

The hotel's guests and performers over the years included talk show host Johnny Carson, members of the so-called "Rat Pack" -- including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. -- along with such entertainers as Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, comedian Don Rickles and even the Beatles.

Green said the Sahara was only the sixth resort and casino to open on the strip and "really made the lounge act central to Las Vegas."

The Sahara was first opened by developer Milton Prell and in 1961 was sold to real estate magnate Del Webb, who owned it until the early 1980s. The hotel and casino changed ownership two more times before Nazarian's company acquired it in 2007.

Green said the Sahara's decline could be blamed not only on time and the recession, but also on the changing face of Las Vegas, where glittery vintage casinos have largely been replaced by larger, more upscale resorts.

"What has happened to the Sahara reflects how the Strip has developed in the last two decades," he said. "It's an example not just of the economy but how Las Vegas has evolved."

(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune; Editing by Bernard Orr)

[Coinopcollector]

My last visit at SAHARA in November 2010 did not give me a good feeling compared to what we saw in the other casino's on the strip.

I remember mentioning to my friend the following:  Our Last visit in november 2007 we where present when the Frontier came down, I guess this will be the next one.

I think i am not the only one on the board here when i say, I don't feel good in the NEW Las Vegas,
I rather prefer to hang out in the older casino's where you still can feel the ghosts and spirit from the mobsters
hanging around but the BIG MONEY took over VEGAS and now it looks like DISNEYWORLD for the youngsters and SHOWING OFF on the strip is the main thing!!

I remember plenty off young people wandering the Strip with a cocktail and a nice dressed but almost naked girlfriend OK, theyre making fun but that's all what it is to me.
Look I am not jealous from the cocktail and I do like his girlfriend  but that's not what brings in the money to the casino's i guess.

Heck maybe i am getting to old or i am trying to find - bring back the good old 60's and maybe i am dreaming loud....

Sorry to hear about the 1000 employees on the road, thats a lot more worse in my opinion, Vegas on the move in a while....

[Neonkiss]

Another one bites the dust.
It was nostalgic. Last time I stayed there the non-smoking rooms smelled like smoke and the carpet had burn marks from an iron. 
But what the hell for $49.00 a night. Never stayed in the room long enough to care.

[knagl]

But what the hell for $49.00 a night.

Oof.  It'd be a bargain in any other part of the country, but $49/night in Vegas can typically get you all but the highest tier properties (at least on a Sunday-Thursday night).

I'm going to have to stop by there this upcoming trip to get a $1 chip or two, and to take some pictures.

[Coinopcollector]

Yup, good thing to do because the chip value from Sahara will rise like the oil by the barrel now 

[jay]

Where I choose to stay is 40% rates but also location location location. I have stayed at the Straosphere and at $29/night it was a deal but the location sucked. If you wanted to take in a show it was a major hike - even the overpriced mono-rail was a major hike over to the convention center. The Wynn with its golf course and such kind of puts in a big buffer down the strip. In the old days when the frontier and stardust were still standing you could at least cross the street and see something other than discarded trash.
That whole end of the strip is really suffering from this buffer. So I suspect that the walk in / through traffic is way down.

I also think this closing might have a bit more to do with the Sarah theme (anti-arab sentiment) of the general population. The Alladin despite its prime location on the strip bankrupted two separate owners before it was converted to Planet Hollywood and as I understand is holding its own.

Part of the fun of the strip Vegas is people watching. When you wander Circus Circus, Slots of Fun, Sahara, etc its like walking through a Walmart - heck even the crack heads don't even try and ply their trade at these places as the perception is cheap cheap cheap. No buzz going on. I think the Imperial palace is a dump but you can't beat the location of mid strip and at least they have hammed it up by putting in the dealers in costumes.

In the old days the Casinos used to have these fun books that would put people through hoops to get their key chains or free deck of used cards. This got people in and kept them in. The imperial palace used to have these foot long hot dogs. You would find a coupon to get a Hot Dog and a beef for a buck. First you had to walk to the back bar of the casino and trade the coupon in for the bar ticket, next you had to cross the casino floor again to get to the right bar, this guy gave you your draft for $1 and a coupon for the dog. Then you had to go to the street to get your dog which involved crossing the floor again.

I hate Hard Rock Cafe food but on some of my global trips I make a point of tracking down the Hard Rock. Just to buy my wife a Tshirt.  Or how about those Americas quarters - many people went out of their way to collect them. You would think that some of the casinos would create a collectable that you could only get by going to all of their casinos. Then only opening their booths at certain times. The sands did this with mugs.

Mermaids downtown has this right - you get a free ticket at the door but the drawing doesn't happen for like 35min from the time you enter. So what do you do - you play.

[knagl]

The Alladin despite its prime location on the strip bankrupted two separate owners before it was converted to Planet Hollywood and as I understand is holding its own.

Planet Hollywood also was dying in that location -- it finally got bought out by Harrah's (now Caesars), otherwise its doors would have closed too.

One of the biggest issues with the Sahara is its location.  There's nothing going on at the north end of the strip anymore, and the Sahara didn't do much of anything to keep drawing people to their casino/hotel.

[Super Joker]

I always enjoyed checking out the old casinos. Imagining what really was going on, how they were in their heyday, the excitement, etc.

Never stayed at the Sahara (too far away). Stayed at most all of the others that have been and gone (Stardust, Sands, original Aladdin, Frontier, etc., etc). DANG! I'm sounding "old".

Worse in Vegas has been the El Cortez (as far as room quality, cleanliness, etc).

Anyways, it will be sad to see it go. Sometimes I think if an old property could be converted to something like a "museum" or something, it might get some retro action.

[StatFreak]

...
I think the Imperial palace is a dump but you can't beat the location of mid strip and at least they have hammed it up by putting in the dealers in costumes.
...

I couldn't agree more. I stayed there for nothing on a comp and it was too expensive. They couldn't pay me to stay there again.

It's Caesars/Harrahs low-end property, but Harrah's proper is right next door to the north, has an equally good strip location, and I have continued to get free room offers mid-week for most of Caesars/Harrahs non-premium properties (including Harrah's) even though I don't have any play within the last year.

I would recommend getting a Caesar's Entertainment player's card and waiting for those free mid-week room offers (which, even with my current low end status include free rooms at the Rio, Bally's, the Flamingo, Harrah's, and the dreaded IP. My low end offers still give me discounted rooms at Caesars Palace, Ph, and Paris.) Those with decent play on their accounts will get much better offers, as I used to before my status dropped.

P.S. The Imperial Palace did have some half naked ladies dancing and singing in the casino in the evening while I was there, and I would definitely stroll over there to see them again,   as long as I could then "stroll" back to my room at Harrah's. 

[knagl]

Worse in Vegas has been the El Cortez (as far as room quality, cleanliness, etc).

When were you there?  They've put a ton of money into the 'Tez, and it's a great place to stay now.  We've stayed there three times (once in a tower room, and twice in their new Cabana Suites) and it's been a great experience.

I've read about the El Co of the past, but they've put a lot in to change the atmosphere, both in the rooms and the casino itself.

Here are a few pictures of their new Cabana Suites "deluxe" rooms:









...and one from their website of their "new" (as of a few years ago) lobby bar area:



http://www.elcortezhotelcasino.com/

[Buzz]

SMART people, paint a room that god awful green so you will leave the room and go to the casino !!!

[StatFreak]

SMART people, paint a room that god awful green so you will leave the room and go to the casino !!!

Well, I can say this about the room: it's clean and new. Yeah. It certainly is, uh -- new.    Oh, and the bathroom looks nice.  



P.S. You know, I've been looking at those pictures for three minutes and fifty-two seconds, and I think I'm getting a headache. 


<ADD> HEY! I thought of another nice thing to say about the room: It looks great in the dark!

[CaptainHappy]

What, is noone going to comment about the white VINYL headboard???

CH

P.S. To me as long as it is clean and not 25 years old, I am ok as it is just a place to sleep. I do like the bathroom in the picture. Wait, where is the toilet?

[reho33]

For having s-x in there I would be offended to bring my mate to a room like that............unless you are into "campyness"

[knagl]

I do like the bathroom in the picture. Wait, where is the toilet?

It's around the corner in the picture.




For what it's worth, they were going for a whole boutique South Beach/Miami vibe with the Cabana Suites, but I get that they don't appeal to everyone.  They also have more traditional rooms in their tower which are also decent.

[uniman]

Liquidation sale starts next Thursday. No auction, just a sale. Can only imagine the prices they'll put on that stuff.
Costs $10 a head to just walk in and look!
I still might go just to see. Maybe there's a nice slot stand with my name on it.


http://www.nclsales.com/liquidation-sales/current-sales-sahara-hotel-casino/

[reho33]

They selling the slot machines too??

[stayouttadabunker]

I like the way they conveyor-ed the slot drop to the coin rolling machines.
However, that bath tub in the middle of the room is too freaky for me... 

[Ron (r273)]

I like the way they conveyor-ed the slot drop to the coin rolling machines.
However, that bath tub in the middle of the room is too freaky for me... 

Not freaky with a good looking gal in there.

Ron (r273)

[uniman]

They selling the slot machines too??

No slot machines. 
Nevada law technically requires a background check before a resident can buy a slot. They never sell or auction slots to the public when they close a casino.

[blueridgeslots]

They selling the slot machines too??

No slot machines. 
Nevada law technically requires a background check before a resident can buy a slot. They never sell or auction slots to the public when they close a casino.

Never say never, there are public auctions of casino's in Nevada if the Nevada Gaming Commission wants to or it is in their best interest, I was at the Comstock Hotel and Casino auction when any local schmoe could buy a game if a Nevada resident or had a DOJ and NO WAIT.. I have most machines still here, why it usually is a 5 business day wait for a machine move in NV for most, the gaming agents were on hand and just had you sign a form as you took it off the floor, the Casino was sold to the bare walls, several of the older larger dealers on NLG were there as well fighting over S+ games back then and the PE+had so much action there were people standing on top of them with their hands up on the bids to well over $1200 ea, on the Sahara machines, the older stuff was sold before closing and the newer stuff was not offered as it went to another property of the ownership, another casino operator in town was the high bidder on the older stuff I was told

[uniman]

They selling the slot machines too??

No slot machines. 
Nevada law technically requires a background check before a resident can buy a slot. They never sell or auction slots to the public when they close a casino.

Never say never,

OK, since I have lived here in Clark County Nevada (2 years) I have not seen an auction or liquidation of copious amounts of slot machines made available to any local schmoe! 

Thanks for the story Jim!! Wish I could have been there!

[IFFV68]

I was told by a Las Vegas business that all the Sahara's slot machines have already been sold to another Casino. I was told the name but it  wasn't one that stuck in my mind.
Las Vegas is always  re-inventing  it's self to keep people from around the world to keep coming back for a new look or a new property.

As one member said, it's too bad the city or some big money investor, with the city could purchase a old Las Vegas Land mark. Make it into a hotel & Museum with everything from the past that made Las Vegas what it is today. Slot Machines from the past.
My father-in-law always said Las Vegas was better run when organized crime ran the town. If you won a big Jackpot, you were paid. None of this the reels were a little off & you get $11.00.
Yea, what a place.

[uniman]

Stopped by the Sahara yesterday and didn't come home with anything. The first four days Thurs-Sun they charged $10 a head just to walk through the door. Everything was priced a bit high!
And there was a 10% buyers fee plus 8.1% sales tax!!  There were a few IGT toppers for $45 plus the 18.1% markup. And a few pieces of glass for $40 a pop!
Bar stools were $75 each. They also had these little camel lamps at $150 a piece.
I never had any attachment to the Sahara so seeing these "liquidation" prices just made me laugh.
The few slot stands were the generic black boxes and were bolted together in two's and three's.