Sahara Hotel & Casino Closed on May 16, 2011

On May 16, 2011 the Sahara Hotel and Casino closed. The Sahara Resort was anchored on the north end of the Las Vegas Blvd. and Sahara Ave and was the sixth resort to open on the “Strip”. It was in operation from October 7, 1952 until May 16, 2011 as the Sahara Hotel.

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. A long list of headliners followed: included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Benny, Paul Anka,  and George Carlin to mention a few. 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.

The hotel had 1,720 guestrooms and suites with a casino covering more than 85,000 sq. ft. To this day the hotel remains closed and is currently under construction and scheduled to reopen in Fall 2014 as the SLS Las Vegas.

Photo By: Wikimedia Commons

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