This past Tuesday, the SLS Las Vegas unveiled the latest of a $100-million renovation being performed on the casino. An event held at The Sayers Club revealed a number of improvements and enhancements, including an updated gaming floor, new hotel rooms and a new Mexican restaurant concept, Uno Mas, will be added to the venue.
The SLS Las Vegas was inaugurated as the Sahara Hotel and Casino in 1952. At the time, it was just the sixth property to be launched on what would become the Las Vegas Strip and quickly became a favorite with a number of entertainers, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
In 2011, the Sahara closed after having been purchased by the Stockbridge Capital Group in order to conduct a $400-million face-lift on the property. It would take three years for the work to be complete and it reopened as the SLS Las Vegas in 2014. However, the large investment didn’t have the impact Stockbridge anticipated and the resort never turned a profit.
In April of last year, Alex Meruelo purchased the property through his privately-owned Meruelo Group. Once again, a new renovation would be held on the venue, with Meruelo injecting over $100 million to update the resort.
Along with the latest renovation, a new name was expected to be given to the property. At first, there were rumors that it would become the Grand Sahara Resort, a tribute to the resort’s former glory, but there was concern that the name was too similar to another Meruelo-owned property, the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno. For now, the name will remain SLS Las Vegas.
As part of the current renovations, which are expected to take a couple of years, SLS is being given a new 60,000-square-foot casino floor that offers “a bright modern atmosphere with glamourous finishes including a new layout for the slot and table pits.” There will also be a new high-limit gaming salon added in the near future.
Later this year, the venue will exhibit a number of new guest service enhancements, including an updated hotel lobby and guest check-in, as well as redesigned rooms. During Tuesday’s unveiling, company executives added that the renovations on the Story and World Towers, as well as those to the Grand Tower, are almost complete.
