SBE expects to spend upwards of $750 million on the project, envisioning it to be an all-encompassin

The Beatles cheap train tickets to paris are ushered to their room at the Sahara hotel before performing at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Aug. 20, 1964. Paul McCartney dons sunglasses and stands in front, with Ringo Starr on the left and George Harrison, cheap train tickets to paris looking down behind Ringo.
"We are working with our partners to assess a variety cheap train tickets to paris of options for the property, including a complete renovation and repositioning," cheap train tickets to paris said a statement from Sam Nazarian, CEO of SBE Entertainment Group, which owns and operates the Sahara. "While no final decisions have been made at this point," Nazarian said, "the continued operation of the aging Sahara was no longer economically viable."
The property, which opened in 1952 , has 1,720 rooms. Its closure will add to the woes of the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Riviera hotel-casino's parent company is in bankruptcy and the Fontainebleau casino-resort project remains stalled.
"We see the northern end of the Strip as the future of Las Vegas," Nazarian said in the statement. "With Las Vegas showing early signs of recovery, cheap train tickets to paris we are confident that we ultimately will find a creative and comprehensive new solution for this historic property."
D. Taylor, head of the Culinary Union in Las Vegas, said the union would work with some 400 affected hotel and food and beverage employees to help them find new employment cheap train tickets to paris or upgrade their job skills.
At the same time, he noted it's been "tough sledding" during cheap train tickets to paris the recession for the north end of the Strip, which includes the stalled Echelon resort and vacant land where the New Frontier used to sit.
"SBE is fortunate to have a strategic relationship with MGM Resorts cheap train tickets to paris International. As a result, we will work together to try to find jobs for Sahara employees in cases where there are open positions in MGM Resorts' properties," added Nazarian. "We will also work with MGM Resorts to accommodate Sahara hotel and group customers with reservations following our closure."
"We sincerely appreciate the service and dedication shown by the many Sahara team members over the decades,'' Nazarian said. "They have been the heart and soul of this iconic property. We thank them for their longstanding service.''
Last summer, Nazarian told Bloomberg News he was in talks with lenders about restructuring the Sahara's debt and had reached a forbearance agreement with the primary lender, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
"While this may have come as an unexpected event for many, we are not surprised by this announcement as we have been expecting unprofitable and dated casinos in Las Vegas and other markets to shut down, given the continued downward pressure they face from higher unemployment, rising commodity inflation and reduced discretionary spending. In the near-term, cheap train tickets to paris we expect other unprofitable casinos in Las Vegas and regional markets to either shut down or get bought out by bigger operators who can reinvest in the property. We believe cheap train tickets to paris this closure may impact American Casino Entertainment's cheap train tickets to paris Stratosphere property located in the north end of the Strip, which is now surrounded by Riviera (under bankruptcy), Sahara (closed) and the permanently stalled cheap train tickets to paris Fontainebleau project," Zarnett said in a note to clients.
The closure also is likely to harm the bankrupt Las Vegas Monorail, which has a station at the Sahara that is the transportation system's northern terminus and a connecting point to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's bus transit system. (Related story: Sahara's closure could hurt monorail, but station will stay open )
The hotel includes 85,000 square feet of casino floor space and two main restaurants: the House of Lords steakhouse and the NASCAR Café. The hotel-casino's entertainment options include "The Magic and Tigers of Rick Thomas" cheap train tickets to paris and "Striptease," cheap train tickets to paris a topless revue, but both went on hiatus and were originally scheduled to return in mid-March.
In 2009, the Sahara closed two of its three hotel towers and its buffet, citing slow business. The hotel's room rates have been as low as $30 on weekends during the last few years. It recently offered $1 rooms through its Twitter account cheap train tickets to paris to entice cheap train tickets to paris visitors.
SBE purchased the Sahara hotel-casino in March 2007 for a price estimated between $300 and $400 million. The Navegante Management Group operates the casino while SBE manages cheap train tickets to paris the hotel and restaurants.
SBE recently announced plans to rebrand and redesign the Fontana Bar at the Bellagio as Hyde Nightclub. MGM Resorts International had announced a partnership with its new players club card, M Life, and SBE that would allow guests to use the SB Preferred program at MGM resorts.
SBE operates four other hotels, including the SLS Hotel in South Beach, the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Four Points by Sheraton at the Los Angeles International Airport and Redbury in Hollywood. It also operates several nightclubs and restaurants in the Los Angeles area.
In January, it was announced that Los Angeles investment firm Colony Capital LLC was investing $35 million in Nazarian's company SBE. Colony Capital cheap train tickets to paris also is an investor in Station Casinos Inc. and the Las Vegas Hilton.
The high-end resort project was announced in January 2012 by Los Angeles-based hotelier Sam Nazarian. Nazarian cheap train tickets to paris heads SBE Entertainment, a hospitality and entertainment empire with real estate, restaurants, clubs and hotels nationwide.
SBE expects to spend upwards of $750 million on the project, envisioning it to be an all-encompassing, cheap train tickets to paris mixed-use property with more than 1,600 guest rooms and suites and a collection of SBE's restaurant and nightlife brands.
"When it opens, SLS Las Vegas will provide an approachable cheap train tickets to paris experience that will feature The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya cheap train tickets to paris by Starck, a reinvention of SBE's original nightlife concept, Shelter, retail by Fred Segal and additional brands currently in development," according to the website .
The high-end resort cheap train tickets to paris project was announced in January 2012 by Los Angeles-based hotelier cheap train tickets to paris Sam Nazarian. Nazarian heads SBE Entertainment, cheap train tickets to paris a hospitality and entertainment empire with real estate, restaurants, clubs and hotels nationwide.
SBE expects to spend upwards of $750 million on the project, envisioning cheap train tickets to paris it to be an all-encompassing, mixed-use property with more than 1,600 guest rooms and suites and a collection of SBE's restaurant and nightlife brands.
"When it opens, SLS Las Vegas will provide an approachable experience that will feature The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya by Starck, a reinvention of SBE's original nightlife concept, Shelter, cheap train tickets to paris retail by Fred Segal and additional brands currently in development," according to the website .
The high-end resort project was announced in January 2012 by Los Angeles-based hotelier Sam Nazarian. Nazarian heads SBE Entertainment, a hospitality and entertainment empire with real estate, cheap train tickets to paris restaurants, clubs and hotels nationwide.
SBE expects to spend upwards of $750 million on the project, envisioning it to be an all-encompassing, mixed-use property with more than 1,600 guest rooms and suites and a collection of SBE's restaurant and nightlife brands.
"When it opens, SLS Las Vegas will provide an approachable experience that will feature The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya by Starck, a reinvention of SBE's original nightlife concept, Shelter, retail by Fred Segal and additional brands currently in development," according to the website .
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