BREAKING: Sahara Closing in May

News just broke that the rumors were true – the Sahara is closing. Here are some of the specifics from the LA Times.

Closure of the 59-year-old Sahara hotel-casino on the recession-battered Strip is a psychological blow to Las Vegas. Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles nightclub impresario who owns the property, has no specific plans for the Rat Pack-era hotel’s future.

Chief Executive Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles nightclub impresario who purchased the Moroccan-themed casino in 2007 and vowed to restore its hipness, said in a statement that running the property was “no longer economically viable.”

While the statement said Nazarian’s company was mulling options for the 59-year-old resort, “including a complete renovation and repositioning,” it gave no details or timeframe for such plans.

Of course, I can’t say I’m surprised by this. I’ll get some thoughts together about this later, but I wanted to get the info out while it’s still relatively fresh.