Nazarian: “We are back”
The new SLS Las Vegas will open Labor Day weekend, August 29-September 1. The announcement was made by Sam Nazarian, CEO of SBE Entertainment, on the L.A.-based company’s website.
“It’s been an incredible journey these past few years,” Nazarian wrote. “Looking forward to toasting the Strip’s next chapter with you! We are ‘back’ indeed!” Nazarian wrote he was “proud and humbled” at the prospect of opening the $415 million resort.
The SLS was built at the site of the former Sahara, a landmark casino hotel that hosted entertainment legends including the Rat Pack, Elvis Presley and the Beatles. When reconstruction began in 2011, Nazarian taped a note on the door of the hotel?on Sahara’s letterhead?saying, “Be back soon!” Thank you for 59 years ….”
The 1,600-room SLS Las Vegas will have a contemporary look. It will feature nearly a dozen restaurants and nightlife amenities from SBE’s proven roster of brands, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The company said the Bazaar by Jose Andres, Katsuya by Starck, Umami Burger, the Sayers Club and 800 Degrees will be on hand when the resort opens, along with Los Angeles’s famous Griddle Café. Los Angeles retailer Fred Segal will have seven different outlets throughout the property.
Former Wynn Resorts Ltd. executive Rob Oseland was named SLS Las Vegas president in 2012. He will be in charge of the property, including the reconfigured 60,000-square-foot casino, which will have 80 table games and 800 slot machines.
Nazarian said SLS Las Vegas’ biggest feeder market will be Southern California, where SBE operates 60 restaurants and nightclubs. The company’s loyalty program could have 5 million names by the time SLS Las Vegas opens. Besides Los Angeles, New York and Miami, SLS hotels are being planned for Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston and Houston.
SBE and Stockbridge acquired the Sahara in 2007.
