There are rules to a liquidation sale, you know. Just because you are guarding that prime rib cart, that doesn’t make it yours. And there’s no bargaining or bartering, either — at least not on the first day.
Now that the Sahara hotel-casino is closed in Las Vegas after 59 years, everything must go. The owners of the casino are planning a liquidation sale of all items inside the property exactly one month after closing the casino's doors. Things for sale include the casino's poker room sign, bedroom furnishings and chandeliers in several shapes and sizes.
On the Sahara’s final weekend, I walked into a pathetic scene: A bunched crowd of patrons, arms outstretched, reaching and yelling as employees distributed free T-shirts. It was like something out of a disaster zone where the crowd is pushing up against the relief workers giving out sacks of food. Later, I came up with a classic win-win: We should move the state capital to Las Vegas, and make the Sahara the Capitol building.
Sun columnist John Katsilometes moved into the Sahara for the iconic Vegas casino’s final four days. Over those 96 hours, Johnny Kats posted nearly a message an hour on Twitter. Limited to 140 characters per message, here are a few highlights of those posts.
The Culinary and Bartenders unions say they and the owner of the Sahara have been working to help nearly 400 union members affected by today's closure of the property.
The Sahara opened its doors on Oct. 7, 1952. On the morning of Oct. 8, 1952, my father, Hank Greenspun, published his “Where I Stand” column heralding the opening of the fabulous Sahara.
The Sahara took its first bow after transforming a struggling bingo parlor into a Moroccan-themed resort filled with pretend camels, nomads and African warriors and genuine Hollywood glitz. It embraced young adulthood as the Strip’s tallest occupant under the guidance of a company whose leader owned the New York Yankees when Mickey Mantle roamed center field.
In its prime, the north end of the Strip — the home to casinos such as the Thunderbird, Silver Slipper and Stardust — defined Vegas glitz. Today’s snapshot is a much different picture.
"It was wonderful just being part of all of that. Every day was electric; every day was exciting. Dean Martin came and Jane Russell and the stars were all out in their ermines and their minks."
The Sahara hotel-casino has shut down its roller coaster in preparation for its closure in less than two weeks. The roller coaster closed Sunday, a representative from the hotel said. The ride first opened in 1999 when the Sahara renovated and opened its NASCAR Café.
Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino executive Larry King didn’t have to look far for a new job when the Sahara announced March 11 it would be closing on May 16. Riviera Holdings Corp. announced King, 49, had been hired as chief financial officer, vice president–finance and treasurer.
The owner of the Sahara hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip on March 11 announced plans to close the property on May 16. The 59-year-old casino at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip has a warm spot in the hearts of many Sun readers, and we asked them to share their stories with us. Some of their memories are below, edited for spelling and clarity.
Helmut Hartleb first visited Las Vegas in 1958, six years after the Sahara opened. He remembers the lights and the excitement on the north end of the Strip. And for the past 30 or more years, he and his wife, Joan, have made a yearly trip to Las Vegas.
