Sahara Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Version 7, Triblend Tee

Venue History

The Sahara Hotel and Casino was one of the Las Vegas Strip’s most enduring mid-century resorts, known for its distinctive North African theme, lively entertainment, and role in shaping the Strip’s golden era of show business. Located on the northern end of the Strip at 2535 South Las Vegas Boulevard, the Sahara opened on October 7, 1952, developed by entrepreneur Milton Prell, who envisioned a resort that blended exotic décor with classic Las Vegas hospitality. At the time of its opening, the Sahara featured 240 guest rooms and a casino floor designed to capture the imagination of visitors through desert-inspired architecture, murals, and dramatic signage. The resort quickly became known for its striking neon camel sign and Middle Eastern motif, which set it apart from neighboring properties along the growing Strip corridor. The Sahara soon established itself as a major entertainment venue. Its Congo Room showroom hosted some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Louis Prima and Keely Smith, whose energetic performances became synonymous with the resort during the 1950s and early 1960s. Other stars such as Don Rickles, Tony Bennett, and Lena Horne also appeared there, helping cement the Sahara’s reputation as a destination for world-class nightlife. Beyond its entertainment offerings, the Sahara introduced several notable attractions. The Sahara Speedway nearby hosted auto racing events in the 1960s, while the hotel’s luxurious pool areas and restaurants made it a favorite among celebrities and tourists alike. During the 1960s and 1970s, the resort expanded several times, adding hotel towers and modernizing the casino floor to keep pace with the Strip’s rapid growth. Ownership changed hands multiple times over the decades, including a long period under Del Webb Corporation. Despite renovations and expansions, the Sahara struggled in the 2000s as newer mega-resorts overshadowed older properties. The hotel closed in 2011, ending nearly six decades of operation under the Sahara name. The property later reopened as SLS Las Vegas in 2014 before eventually returning to its historic identity as Sahara Las Vegas in August 2019. Today, the new resort honors the legacy of the original Sahara while continuing to evolve in a modern Las Vegas landscape, preserving a link to one of the Strip’s most storied hotels.