SAHARA Las Vegas News - Page 15

When he appears Thursday at the Nevada Gaming Commission meeting, Sam Nazarian — the visionary behind SLS Las Vegas — should accept the Dec. 3 recommendation by the Gaming Control Board for a one-year limited gaming license with about a half-dozen conditions.

Sam Nazarian, 39, was recommended for a one-year, limited license by the Gaming Control Board following a more-than-3½-hour public hearing in Carson City.

The buffet is somewhat challenged by its location, which is apart from the other restaurants, such as Umami Burger, Cleo and the Griddle Cafe.

The hotel-casino’s owners said Monday that Scott Kreeger would take over for Rob Oseland, who had been with the property since 2012, before the 18-month construction transition from the shuttered Sahara into SLS Las Vegas.

The layoffs took place over the last two months as the resort adjusted its staffing needs.

Nazarian, 39, the visionary behind the Strip’s first major hotel-casino unveiling in four years, quickly learned he had support from the competition for the $415 million renovation of the Rat Pack-era Sahara.

A line of potential SLS Las Vegas visitors wrapped around the building from the Strip, to east on Sahara Avenue, and north down Paradise Road.

The 1,620-room Strip resort, a renovation of the aging Sahara, opened just after midnight following a lavish VIP reception for 3,600 guests and a fireworks display.

SLS Las Vegas will open its doors at midnight as the first major casino resort debuting in Las Vegas in several years.

Fred Segal, which was created in 1961 in Los Angeles, has locations in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif.

The centerpiece of the new resort’s culinary offerings will be Andres’ Bazaar Meat, which executive chef David Thomas said is “definitely a new concept for Jose and a new concept for the Bazaar brand.”

Nevada Gaming Commission Gaming members said they were comfortable with the financing and operation of 1,620-room hotel-casino on the north end of the Strip that underwent an 18-month renovation.

This month’s sale of the former New Frontier site is giving market speculators new hope that resort corridor land transactions could again become active.

The old Sahara’s location at a somewhat desolate intersection at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue was a disadvantage, said SBE Entertainment CEO Sam Nazarian.

The SLS Las Vegas will be christened the Strip’s newest resort in a lavish Friday-night VIP reception, with the property unveiled to the public shortly after midnight Saturday.

The 1,600-room resort, a redevelopment of the Rat Pack-era Sahara, is scheduled to open Aug. 23.

Commissioners approved a zoning change to make possible a $1.4 billion resort and arena project at the old Wet ‘n Wild site next to SLS Las Vegas on the north end of the Strip.

Bloomberg News Service reported Thursday that Australian billionaire James Packer had acquired a portion of the loan covering the 34.5-acre site and would consider building a hotel-casino on the land.

Operators of 1,600-room Strip hotel-casino, which opens Aug. 23, aren’t letting memories of the Sahara fade away.

Moody’s Investors Service recently downgraded its view of the U.S. gaming market from “stable” to “negative,” putting all the blame on regional gaming destinations where weak results have investors sweating.