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Las Vegas Sun file photo
The Sahara hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Published Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 | 10:58 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 | 2:44 p.m.
The Sahara hotel-casino in Las Vegas is temporarily closing two of its three hotel towers and its buffet, citing slow business during the holiday season.
Verena King, a spokeswoman for the company with Preferred Public Relations, couldn't immediately say Tuesday how many rooms at the 1,720-room property would be affected; or how many jobs would be affected.
"If the demand did increase, then more rooms would be made available (at the closed towers)," King said.
She said the closures are effective immediately and it's not known when, after the holidays, the towers will re-open.
The closures come as many industry analysts feel demand for Las Vegas hotel rooms will not grow enough in 2010 to fill all the new and existing hotel rooms in the U.S. gaming capital.
"We maintain our cautious outlook for Las Vegas, as we believe fundamentals should remain challenged through 2010 as Las Vegas attempts to absorb the large increase in supply in a contracting demand environment. We estimate Las Vegas Strip’s room supply to increase by approximately 15 percent (10,000 new rooms) over the next 12 months, starting with the opening of CityCenter (5,895 rooms) in December," Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett said in a report Monday. "Based on our analysis, we expect same-store Las Vegas revenues to decline by 10 percent and EBITDA to decline by approximately 20 percent as new capacity cannibalizes existing Strip operators."
EBITDA, a profitability measure, means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Despite an uptick in visitation to Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip gaming win fell 10.2 percent in October vs. October 2008 as statewide win of $800.3 million slumped 11.5 percent.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that 3,153,159 people visited Las Vegas in October, up 3.7 percent from October 2008.
But the city's room inventory was up 2.8 percent in October, to 141,489 rooms -- so occupancy was down 1.2 percentage points from a year ago to 82.6 percent.
4 Step Solution:
1. Get Reid re-elected
2. Build Downtown Stadium
3. Build High Speed Rail Between Las Vegas and LA
4. Build Bigger Hotels to entice more people.
Oh my.. the place was like a ghost town when all 3 towers were open. I cant imagine how empty the place will be now. Sad.. Very sad.
Um wow. Love that first comment! Nothing like some genuine psycho-talk to start your day.
We all know the reason they had to close two of the towers is because Aria is opening tomorrow and the people who usually stay at the Sahara have moved on to CityCenter!
and the beat goes on....next hotel on the list to cut down will probably be the Riviera, and not far from it...the Circus Circus. They all must cut down traffic and close room capacities during this downturn, everything else would be an illusionary situation. Good luck for complete re-opening in 2011 or perhaps 2012. I don't think 2010 will be any different from 2010. The regular people still don't have jobs and money to burn.
Greetings from Switzerland
This is another pretty historic milestone for Vegas, as the Sahara Hotel is one of the original hotels which got it's makeover from a previous well remembered bingo hall which I believe was the work of Milton Prell. The Sahara was chic and had it's grand opening at another time when Vegas was on the brink of bankruptcy of the mid to late fifties. This is a historic property which saw the likes of Louis Prima and Keely Smith in the world famous Sahara Lounge. The lounge was featured in the original Ocean's Eleven film with Dean Martin at the piano singing "Ain't Love A Kick In The Head" and many other parts of the hotel in other scenes. A classic place for sure! Long Live The Sahara, and hope she reopens the towers soon...
Remember,CC will not take business from other hotels. The Sahara is a dump,anyways.
By the way putting aside United_727's idiotic remark, At one time The Sahara had the LARGEST swimming pool in Las Vegas!
Obviously occupancy rates weren't 82.6% at Binions or the Sahara -- but what were rates at Binions and Sahara prior to closures Mr. Green?
Don't know how stated occupancy rates are derived or verified but it seems what is being stated is suspect to accuracy - obviously rates vary from property to property but when the Sahara closes 2/3 such would suggest occupancy rates at the Sahara were running at less than a measly 33% - suspect Binion's rate was even less.
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Is the town slowly imploding?
I wonder how many people lost, or will lose, their jobs because of this?
How sad. It isn't the plushest hotel, but the history alone is worth saving the property for. The rooms are not new by any means, but clean and inexpensive.
A sad day for Vegas!
these dumps should have been imploded a long time ago:
sahara
tropicana
circus circus
riviera
union plaza
binions
fitzgerals
four queens
vegas club
the real question is why have all these properties not been kept up??? because greedy owners and management teams have took as much money as they could out of the business and not spent a nickel on the properties and now they are $hit holes! implode them all and the town will be better for it!
have you guys ever been to the sahara. its a dump. i dont get it, some of you people have no brains. we just opened a mega resort with great amneties and you want people to stay at a dump. when one place opens the other has to close. who wants to stay at the sahara anyways.
Winn screwed up the balance when the greedy bastard built TWO New York style hotels he calls Casino's....The peckin order was always, The Stations,The Strat'O,The Rivie',Circus Circus,etc....The cheaper ones where first choice for the poorer people,they have since moved up to the I.P.,Flamingo,for the same money...Harrahs was jammed, IP was packed,The core of the strip is fine...The fringes are dying...Gambling does not bring em'in anymore...Vegas wants to push Entertainment as their NEW VEGAS...and coulpes please...singles spend less,they don't want you....No where near the Vegas I used to visit in the six'tes...THAT WAS FUN....NOT NOW!
If they tear down Circus Circus,where will all the LA gang bangers stay?
How about housing the Gitmo prisoners there. Oh yes, they'll have to upgrade the food.
Wow and we were going to book our vacation at Sahara or Circus Circus for next week but decided not to travel. We thought with round trip flight (Pittsburgh to Vegas), 5 nights including meal plan for $219.00 per person was too good to be true. Friends of ours just stayed there and they said it was ok for what they wanted a place to sleep with little to no glamour. We are now looking at a vacation sometime next year but how many more places will fold and what occurs if we have booked rooms?
Vegas like Atlantic City is in a worst shape than most are led to believe.
p
What a shame SBE bought the Sahara. Yes, she was grand in her day.
Now, just a money pit, with no hope of redemption.
I hate to think how much SBE lost on this deal.
They should take it off their website and not even admit they have an interest in it.
Sporty, Actually, the opening of high end resorts does affect business at the lower priced places. As the competitors all reduce their rates to stay competetive, some of the formerly high priced places become mid priced, some of the mid priced places start competing with the lower priced places. A few years ago, a room at Luxor was over $100. Now they're under $50 with a food credit thrown in. TI was near the high end, now you can stay there for $50 on some nights, and it's still a really fine place. IP is in the $25 range, Used to be $50. Palace station was always inexpensive, now even more so. I think we'll see more partial closings and outright closings before things level off. Places like Riviera and Hooters are already documented in this paper as being in serious trouble. Seems like the North end of the strip is in more trouble than the Harrah's and MGM corridors. We'll be staying at the IP next week, 2 nights, 50 bucks. Stayed at the Luxor last month, 3 nights, 140 bucks including a free night at the buffet. Can't beat those rates.
look why pay 500 bucks who stays in there room in vegas.....i love those old shady places....bummer now me and my homies will have to stay at circus circus.........or imperila palace.....
mr lucky
Some of those places you mentioned - Four Queens, Fitzgerald's, the Plaza, Vegas Club - are still doing an okay business and are what people want: a cheap, clean place to stay with good gambling. Vegas Club has a lot of Asian and South Pacific tour groups so it's doing alright. Sure, those places are not luxurious because it's not the Strip, it's Downtown and as far as I know, Downtown STILL has a lot of out of town fans.
"Winn screwed up the balance when the greedy bastard built TWO New York style hotels he calls Casino's...."
Steve WYNN did not screw up any balance! In fact, he had an idea and was VERY successful with it and now ALL the Strip owners (all two of them) want to follow suit and do like Steve did. Say what you will about WYNN, he knows what he is talking about and knows what he is doing.
(NY Style hotels???? Have you ever BEEN in any of Wynn's properties??? They don't look like a NY hotel in the least!!)
It is an old hotel to say the least..I stayed in their "new" tower during a convention this year and it was empty then..the rooms were nice and a close walk to the LV conv. center, but doesnt compete with even low end Luxor or TI...
OK everybody, especially all you youngins ,need guys like me here to educate you on the fabulous history of these old Vegas properties which have indeed seen better days. I've got a treat for you all. Go to youtube and type in Vintage Vegas Movies 1956, and see just how beautiful this place used to be! In Fact, Mr. lindstrom has a very good scene of his folks walking the beautiful grounds of the Sahara!! Check it out!
Business obviously isn't booming, there are 3 cars on the top level of the parking structure (sww picture above). Probably won't be there next week, probably employee's cars. I really miss the GM test track out back. You could drive a new corvette for a few laps for 5 bucks!
I am sure those suggesting some properties should be imploded are the same sentiments shared by the larger hotel conglomerates as such implosions would likely help support their higher room-rates and ultimate survival.
Perhaps that was the large conglomerates plan all along -- to simply keep building newer properties hoping the competition would eventually implode.
Evidence of cannibalization?
Any way it's sliced, the lower-end tourist options continue to dwindle in this Vegas lodging game of survival of the fittest.
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Vegas was all over for me when the Stardust and Frontier hotels were closed and imploded. There once was a time when the north end of the strip was the neon happening swinging spot on earth! The Sahara and El Rancho Vegas Anchored the north end of the strip. As you cruised slowly south you were blinded by the Riviera, Circus Circus, and Stardust light show, then mesmerized by the tall Frontier Sign, not to mention the beautiful Desert Inn on the left... The premier carnival midway of the 20th century! Sadly all gone now... :(
All I see is former Wet and Wild and the hot green turf they put on the ground.
Its a sad day but lets face it. The whole thing will be flattened and banrupt within three years anyway. IF any employees are reading. Apply for other jobs ASAP!
environ how old are you? who says swinging spots anymore. this isnt the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or the 90s. Its a new age and these old run down casinos need to go. this is simple economics and some people on here are a little behind the times. im sure back in the day these old places were the hottest place to be but those days are gone. people dont care for those type of places anymore, sorry but thats the truth. to be honest with you we need to close a few other on that end of the strip and get rid of the scum that stay there.
I certainly understand the need for nostalgia and the pie in the sky thinking of let's keep our old properties open forever....however, that is not going to happen. There are so many variables here that most people don't know about that cause properties to close....or in this case shut down portions of their business.
Chew on this:
Inefficiencies - The newer properties are built with more efficient designs....ie shared kitchens, lower dependency on power, newer equipment. This allows them to compete at a higher level. Renovating is not really an option here because the cost to do so with some of the old architecture at some of these places would be more than building new. Even the prior owner of the Sahara....the late, great William Bennett conceded that he should have re-built instead of renovate property in the mid 90's.
Labor Unions - The older the property, the older the employees, the less attractive the cocktail waitresses, the less efficient the workers, the higher the payroll. This absolutely hamstrings the older properties here in Vegas. Which is why rebuilding is better. Compare the cocktail waitresses at the Sahara, Riviera, the Stardust/Frontier before they closed to the cocktail waitresses of any of the newer places in town. You're talking granny vs. hot/young chicks. Or have you ever noticed how slow the bartenders and waitresses are in older properties? Really slow.
Keeping up the the times - The older properties do not allow you to easily take advantage of newer developments in the business. As an example, all of the older properties mentioned...ie Riv, old Stardust/Frontier, Sahara, etc didn't take advantage of the boom in conventions because they weren't designed to accommodate or cater to that market segment. That market segment is very profitable. Also, how many of them are able to open up shopping centers? Not very easily.....the cost to do so would be more than re-building.
Just wanted to point out a few things. Yes, it is nice to hold on to old memories, but sometimes you must throw out the old to move forward.
S711
WP420 :
They weren't "scum" back in my days, in fact the ladies were dressed to the nines in mink and jewels, and most of the gentlemen patrons were in jacket and tie. What you call scum, we called the raggedy assed masses who convened or "slumed it" downtown. The strip was a glittering causeway full of class, famous Hollywood celebs, business men, beautiful women, and yes..wiseguys and showgirls. But hey, I understand that things change . It's just sad to see my world disappearing. Too bad you young ones missed out on that golden era in what we considered Vegas to be.. that of another planet! Enjoy what you all call progress,I have solid gold memories of a small town in the desert that glittered like no other place in the world.
I was there in the center strip of 50's and there was nothing like it on earth before then or since then.
Here are a few of my experiences:
Seeing and saying hello to Jimmy Durante as he was waiting for a cab in front of the Desert Inn.
Riding down an elevator with Jack Benny at the Sahara.
Seeing George Burns spend his afternoons by the pool at the Desert Inn.
I was even fortunate to see Sophie Tucker at the El Rancho. Yikes.
Classic times. All as a kid for me. I am grateful I saw them and was there.
There are a few examples of remodeling successes (El Cortez Cabana Suites are a boutique style remodel of an old motel of which any city would be proud), but most casino owners don't have that long-term foresight - and for good reason. Las Vegas has always been a city of the now and tomorrow, not yesterday. Classic Las Vegas had a moment of re-birth in the mid-1990s after the release of "Swingers" but it's time to move forward. Downtown may be the only place in town where the remodeling of old buildings will work well.
An architect friend of mine (also an LV native) says we should put the laid off construction forces to work tearing down old properties and recycling their raw materials. As the old song says, "Boy, you better keep movin' or you'll be left behind."
environprotector/denro - Those types of memories are still happening in Vegas, just not in the same manner you experienced them.
Ladies dressed in mink/jewels & gentlemen in jacket & tie = are now found in higher end establishments like Wynn/Encore, Bellagio. There are many upscale/classy people in those joints.
Seeing and saying hello to Jimmy Durante while waiting for a cab at the Desert Inn = Seeing and saying hello to Jamie Foxx at the Hard Rock.
Riding down an elevator with Jack Benny at the Sahara = Riding down an elevator with Kid Rock at the Palms.
See Sophie Tucker at the El Rancho = See Bette Midler at Caesar's Palace.
"The strip was a glittering causeway full of class, famous Hollywood celebs, business men, beautiful women, and yes..wiseguys and showgirls." = I don't know what Las Vegas Strip you're talking about, but I still see Hollywood Celebs, business men, beautiful women, and yes....Wiseguys & Showgirls in Vegas......just not the same people you remember seeing.
It's still the same Vegas, just a more modernized version.
S711
We can use the closed Towers at the Sahara to house the Homeless veterans. The government and sleazy Harry Reid should put this as a priority instead of railroading this costly health bill that most people don't care for!
Just a few thoughts from a long time visitor. Along with the recession, I feel there are so many things going against Vegas at the present time. Although I feel that there is no other place like Vegas, I believe that the gambling landscape has changed so dramatically that we have entered a completely new era. My wife and I travel to Oklahoma several times a month to watch our son play college football. There is a huge resort just over the border called The Winstar. Along with several new resort style hotels, it reportedly has as many slot machines as three strip casinos combined. The place is incredible. It really has taken customers away from the river boats in Shreveport as the DFW metroplex is just an hour away. So many people I have spoken to have stated that they see no reason to spend money on airline tickets when they can spend that money closer to home.
I realize that it is a very difficult in Vegas right now and I hope that the situation improves, but I feel that it may be a very long time before the sufficient demand is there to right the ship. Good luck out there in the desert.
dipstick :
As I am always saying to you : Don't be a dipstick!!
"... I feel there are so many things going against Vegas at the present time..."
The death of Las Vegas has been greatly exaggerated many times throughout history. We'll be fine.
I don't know that I mentioned the death of Las Vegas. The city will survive but I and many others just feel that the deck has been shuffled and that things have changed. Please understand, I am a huge fan. Hope to enjoy many great trips in the future. We have met some really amazing people on our trips to Vegas. The hard work and effort will be there, but it is just up to the higher ups. Good luck.
Sinatra711...you are right, it's not then and it is the same, just different in style and times.
Will the last few left in Vegas,,please make shur all the light are shut off before you leave.
Anybody notice the old Wave Pool from Wet 'n Wild in the bottom right hand corner of the picture? That was fun times.
S711
We have reservations for early next year hope our friends at the Sahara are still there.
SaharaSunLady - I hope so too, but keep in mind there are plenty of other choices around town at really great rates.
S711
After NFR, all hotels closed down a section of rooms or a tower to cut cost on electricity and overhead reduction. Now all the casinos are suddenly advertising such a thing...*shaking head in disbelief*
Sinatra711,
I saw the wave pool and shed a tear... good times! Now its an empty lot sitting next to the empty Fontainbleu... what a waste of a good waterpark.
Too bad about the Sahara,BUT hey we do have 4,000 rooms nobody can afford opening in about 13 hours. ROFL
peace out
New strip properties will continue to cannabalize existing strip business just like any other industry. It wasn't that long ago when properties like the Mirage and TI came in and replaced older properties. It's what happens and needs to happen. Look you don't shop at a 40 year old grocery store or get your TV reception from an antenna. We use and go to bigger and more efficient things every day. New tourists won't come if things "always" remain the same.
Yes, it's sad, yes, they have over built, but, the alternative is less appealing. old casino's and old hotesl with no growth or no innovation.
hope and change, huh?
oh wait...that's right...it's bush's fault.
Vdara, and Aria and all the other high-end hotels are subsidizing Sahara for closing their towers. They are giving Sahara 5 dollars a night times 1700 rooms. Thats 8500 hundred dollars times 30 nights or over a quarter million dollars a month just to stay closed. Thus forcing the cheap seats to stay away.Plus Sahara avoids paying their employees to hang around sucking up money.
Jim Murren engineered the whole thing.
While closed...perhaps they should start to modernize the dumpy... hot...stinky...infested rooms. Anyway the folks running these places don't give a rats ass about rooms...the profit is in the gamblin halls.
Sinatra711,
Yes there are plenty of other rooms, and some of those have great rates, but we don't return to the Sahara for the rate, we come for the history and the warm friendly service - and the balcony. Very few Vegas properties have balcony rooms.
SaharaSunLady - If the balcony & warm friendly service is a major factor and price isn't.....I would recommend the Signature Suites @ MGM Grand. I have personally stayed there twice. While it doesn't have the history, it knocks it out of the ballpark on the other criteria.
S711
The old Sahara was the entertinment emporium of the Strip.
these older, smaller hotels need to turn themselves into "niche" resorts ( gay, pet friendly, etc. ) and then offer shows, seminars, conventions, that relate to that niche.
like "single at 50" for the pet people for all the women with 9 cats or "history of rhinestone" for the gay crowd.
only way they ( and most of las vegas ) is going to make it.
stevem... if John Ensign turns around too fast, you will break your nose...
I agree with Woodman When the local casinos started to open across the country - many of them riverboats - they were no where near what a Vegas casino was like. But times have changed. MOST if not all are now scaled down versions of Vegas casinos, some even as big as a Vegas casino with the same slot machines and amenities. Gone are the days when you had some "hand me down" slot machine from Vegas to play at on the Mississippi River. It is now the same as Vegas - without the exhorbitant air fare.
PS And the rooms in the adjacent hotels, if there is one, are as nice and beautiful as the rooms in most of the Vegas casinos - and affordable.
PS When I moved back here, I remember the casinos we used to go and they were as I described above - 2nd, even 3rd rate versions of Vegas. Upon visiting two of the old haunts from before I moved to Vegas, I had the attitude of "yeah, we'll see if they measure up". I was TOTALLY shocked and surprised because they did!! One reminded me of a station casino!!
You can see the old "Holy Cow" building in that picture too. They had the best burger in Vegas. Is the Nascar Cafe still open, I know, it attracts so called "undesirables" like me, so many may want to see it go! Too bad so many don't care about the history of these older places and would rather see more cookie cutter high end places with horrible names (Vdara, Palazzo, Bellagio, etc.).
It was only a matter of time. We were in las vegas back in October and that place along with Rivera were like ghost towns. We went into the Rivera and walked right out the slot slection wasnt great. We had thought about staying at Sahara since there rooms were only 33 dollars a night but when we thought about it theres really nothing at that end of the strip so we opted for motel 6 across from MGM. Until they update the hotels and build stuff between encore and rivera its not going to get better
Stevem: Hell just froze over--because I agree with you 100 percent. Turning the small casinos into "niche" resorts is not just a good idea. It's a damn good idea. With times as tough as they are, it's going to take some new strategies to survive. Hope the bigwigs are listening to us mere mortals.
Bakersfield :
Don't forget the ribs and home brew at the Holy Cow !
I stayed at the Sahara many times in the 80's and early 90's. Loved the pool area. Yeah the hotel wasn't the cleanest or most glamarous...but it did the trick for the price. The reason i'm starting to get annoyed with Vegas is because if your not a HUGE spender or a Whale....your totally overlooked. And lets not start in with the "im looking for something for nothing routine". Just saying that the town (at least the strip) is only catering to high end folks. This is why I stay at the locals hotels (South Point, Orleans, etc.) Still love the town...always will.
@Sinatra711...we'll check that out...thanks.
SaharaSunLady - Love the Twitter reference...ha! #CoolPeeps
S711
The fact is that Vegas provides tremendous value for your lodging dollar, and the low-end properties that haven't put money into upgrades just can't compete.
I stayed at a Courtyard or something similar in Des Moines and it was $90. Think of what you can get for $90 a night on a weeknight in Vegas. Trump, Palms Place, Mirage, etc... to say nothing of all the mid-range places that cost half that. Heck, I've even stayed at Encore for that much when you figure in the resort credit. And any of those "4-star" midrange places at $45 a night are still better than every hotel in Des Moines.
I believe Shaq holds the all-time record at the Las Vegas Wet 'n Wild for the quickest elapsed time down their waterslide.....That place was real kewl when it existed.
The Sahara is still one of my all time favorite places in Las Vegas as far as the past is concerned...The place was always packed and so lively when I was a kid and thru the 1980's....I even seen a live portion of the Jerry Lewis Telethon at the Sahara in 1978.
When my Mom had to leave to go to work, she left me with these complete strangers, this hippie couple sitting in the audience so I could stay and enjoy the telethon since she knew I wanted to be there that bad.
Little did I know what the pin buttons were for that the hippie couple was wearing as they took me to another part of the hotel, the pin buttons were actually a VIP pass to a back access area that had all kinds of free catering food and drinks, and it was also the first time I ever operated a soda fountain machine as I could drink all the 7UP I wanted, plus they had some type of bar setup for the adults that I believe served free drinks.... I can honestly say I felt like a high roller hangin around rich people that day as the Sahara was the only place to this day that provided that for me LOL.
Back in 1974 I was also at the MDA telethon (Los Angeles affiliate KTTV channel 11 studios in Hollywood), and shook hands with Tony Franciosa when I donated $5 in quarters on TV while on the air and dumped them in this big glass tube full of money.
The Sahara during my time in the 70s and 80s I noticed was one of the better places to hit the nickel slot machines too.
Whenever I am in town, the Sahara has always been one of the properties I always make time to stop by and visit each and every time... and of course I will hit the craps table as the table staff and floor bosses have such a laid back attitude and are always pleasant to me and very courteous when arriving and leaving any table - that has never changed over the years.
As far as the parking structure, I always park on the Paradise Rd. side of the property as it is more convienient getting in and out of there.
Sinatra,
What does talking to Carrot Top at McCarren for 5 minutes equal = ?
What does crossing paths with Snoop Dogg (that acknoledged me back when I said hi) and his wife inside the walkway between Bally's and Paris equal = ?
What does spotting the former porn star Buck Adams working as a dealer on the craps table at the Frontier ...and spotting him again the following night working as a dealer on the roulette table at Terribles (the old Continental Hotel) equal = ?
way too old - they should have updated a little in the rooms - and if they were smart - just put people in 1 tower instead of 2 here and 2 there. Does anyone know how to manage?
The buffet -well it was so far away from the casino - you needed to take a taxi to it.. I was there in October and could not belive how far you had to walk to get some food. I had a buy one get 1 free - food was ok - but this is true - I had to get the security guard to wheel me back into the casino - plus i didnt win - went to rick thomas;s show - that was good - but now he will probably leave with out any people sleeping there - his show will hit the scids again like before -I feel sorry for him - he is a great intertainer
vegas is going to end up with just casinos - no rooms - I dont care what the room looks like - little old fashion - clean ok - I want to gamble and win - who stays in the room anyway if you are going to vegas to gamble - i stayed at the plaza - room was ok - should have up graded the tv - little old and small - but price was great - stayed 6 nights and it ended up bring about 9 bucks a night - cant get that anyplace - and I got some free food - food ok - downtown is old but fun - you can walk around with out using a taxi and they keep the riff raff out as good as possible
What no one is mentioning is the fact that these properties are encumbered by the unions who refuse to work with the operators to stop the bleeding. Unions WILL be the demise of the small properties. How many people does it take to change a light bulb? 6, 2 to manage pedestrian traffic, 1 to make sure they do it correctly, 2 to hold the ladder 1 to screw the bulb in
enviroprotector
Those where the golden years 60 70.People dressed up in suits,good shows, good looking people and eat like a king (cheap).People were happy back then,what happen? The Mob did a better job taking care of there town.Two many on wanted people moved to Las Vegas looking for a dream.
Convert the rooms into mini-condo's for the (Homeless). This can be done through a government grant.
Obama will get the money for you.
That is right up his alley.
He is good at that.
It is better than imploding the place.
Ace's
del webb just rolled over again in his grave
Best of the best deal is get leaders conferences kept in Vegas. Rooms full of service and no more closing services. Think CEO.
Turn all these at the Sahara & other smaller properties into extended stay places (Like Siegel's). Then all the low rollers will have a place to crash after they spent their paychecks at the tables downstairs. The Sahara Hotel is the only place I know you can play the card game War on the tables.
Did you catch that... "closing its buffet" -- won't miss it. Otherwise, the Health Department would have done it. :)
It does make me sad to have heard about this - used to go to Vegas once a year before I had kids and loved the Sahara, Stardust, Riv, etc. Times are changing and Vegas won't be like that again.
Even so, I agree with some of the comments here that the era of the new casinos are here, but I believe the Sahara would have a niche if it remodeled "retro", maybe to the 1960s, including the rooms. Of course, the mattresses and TVs should be brand new!! :-) It probably would do real well as the other casinos are not geared this way!!
There was a time where the casinos lost money on good buffets and you could buy a beer for less than $10. There just aren't many cheapee places to stay either - High end or no end!
Well, I guess future trips I will be staying at Mandalay Bay in this new era!!