page_title: Sahara Las Vegas
section_title: Changes
hierarchical_section_title: Sahara Las Vegas / History / SLS Las Vegas / Changes
caption_attribution_description: English: Sign for SLS Las Vegas/W Las Vegas, located along the Las Vegas Strip.
context_page_description: Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains 50,662 square feet. The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, at the corner of Sahara Avenue. It is the site of the northernmost station of the Las Vegas Monorail.
  The resort had initially operated under the Sahara name from 1952 to 2011. Originally, Milton Prell opened the Club Bingo casino on the site in 1947. In 1951, he gathered former business partners to begin work on the Sahara, which was built on the land partially occupied by Club Bingo. Del E. Webb Construction Company built the Sahara, which opened on October 7, 1952, as the sixth resort on the Las Vegas Strip. It featured an African theme. Martin Stern Jr. designed several hotel additions for the Sahara, including a 14-story tower that opened in 1960. The Sahara was sold to Del Webb in 1961, and a 24-story hotel tower, also designed by Stern, was opened in 1963.
  The Sahara began to decline in the 1960s with the opening of several large resorts nearby.
context_section_description: The SLS opening was followed by the winter season, typically a weaker business period for Las Vegas resorts. The SLS experienced various hardships during its first year. In October 2014, the SLS laid off less than two percent of its workers. A reduction in staffing was common for Las Vegas Strip casinos shortly after opening, as business is difficult to predict prior to that point. The number of layoffs was low for a Las Vegas resort. Rob Oseland, the president of SLS Las Vegas, announced later that month that he would depart the property to work on a new project. Such departures are also common following a resort opening. He was replaced by Scott Kreeger, a former executive for MGM Resorts and Station Casinos. The buffet did not perform as hoped, due to its location on the second floor. It was temporarily closed for the season in November 2014, with an expected reopening the next year.
  In December 2014, during a hearing with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Nazarian admitted to drug use earlier in the year. The board had concerns about this and also questioned Nazarian's handling of an extortionist who received money from Nazarian to leave him alone. The board was concerned that Nazarian could be easily manipulated, but ultimately recommended him for a limited gaming license. Later that month, Nazarian and Stockbridge came to a mutual agreement that he step back from all daily operations at the SLS. Nazarian said he wanted to focus on other SBE brands, while SBE would continue to operate the non-gaming areas of the SLS.
  Although Nazarian was no longer involved in operations, state law still required that he be licensed, as he owned more than five percent of the resort. A few days after Nazarian's departure, the Nevada Gaming Commission held a hearing in regard to his licensing. Although the commission intended to deny him, Nazarian apologized for his past actions and convinced the commission to grant him a one-year limited gaming license. Because of the prior concerns regarding Nazarian, there were several conditions relating to his license, including random drug testing and no involvement in casino operations.
  Although the Griddle Cafe was popular among customers, its owner chose to close it in January 2015, to focus on new locations. The restaurant was renamed as Northside Cafe the following month. At the time, there were no plans to reopen the buffet, and the Foxtail club had seen poor revenue. In addition, Dean Martin's family had requested a $50,000 licensing fee for using his image on the resort's carpeting. The family stated that the image infringed on Martin's right of publicity, and legal action was threatened if the SLS did not either remove the carpet image or pay the fee. The SLS filed a lawsuit against Martin's family and sought a declaratory judgment that the carpeting was not infringement. In May 2015, the Teamsters union picketed for several days outside the SLS, alleging that the resort refused to let its valet parkers form a union.
  The SLS experienced revenue losses during the first half of 2015. Walk-in traffic was poor due to the resort's location, surrounded by unbuilt projects. The SLS was also half a mile away from its nearest rival resorts, further contributing to a lack of walk-in business. However, the monorail helped increase customer numbers. Kreeger estimated that a complete turnaround at the resort could take 18 to 24 months as adjustments were made. In response to the losses, there were plans to turn the Life nightclub into a live music venue with a third-party operator to manage it. The casino's loyalty club was revamped in a further effort to attract locals, and Kreeger wanted to double the resort's convention space. There was consideration given to turning the closed buffet into additional meeting space.
  Two SLS restaurants were sold to restaurant operator One Group in July 2015, although SBE continued to manage them. The following month, Fred Segal closed its stores at the SLS, and the resort opened three of its own retailers as a replacement. Kreeger said that local customers were not
caption: Sign for SLS and W Las Vegas
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