Things slowed down on the north end of the Strip in the mid-1990s as megaresorts continued to sprout farther south, Green said.
The property became a Las Vegas icon as it continued to grow, hosting major talent such as the Rat Pack, Tina Turner and The Beatles.īut the good times didn’t last forever. … It tried to be thematic in its approach, which was a little different at the time.” “The Sahara had a little extra appeal for Las Vegans at the time,” Green said. The Moroccan-themed hotel-casino originally opened with only 240 rooms in 1952, costing $5.5 million. The property has a storied history in Las Vegas, Green said. “The Sahara brand meant something a while back,” said Michael Green, UNLV associate professor of history. According to experts, this transformation could be a major boon to the property. The 1,720-room property on the corner of the Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue is undergoing a major rebranding effort that includes the name change to Sahara Las Vegas and $150 million in renovations. After operating under the name SLS for five years, the property is circling back to the iconic Sahara name, starting Thursday. The SLS Las Vegas is returning to the hotel-casino’s roots. The closed Sahara hotel - which later reopened as the SLS Las Vegas - is seen in front of the unfinished Fontainebleau resort on the Las Vegas Strip on May 1, 2012.
