Another one bites the desert dust. A year shy of its 60th birthday, the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will forever close its doors next Monday, May 16. Operating the Rat Pack-era resort “was no longer economically viable,” say the owners, who plan to someday transform the property into a swank hipster hotel, a la The Palms.

In the no-man’s land that is the north Strip, where the Fontainebleau Resort construction project remains stalled and tumbleweeds blow through the empty Stardust lot, my guess is ‘someday’ won’t be anytime soon. In the meantime, if you want a shot at being the last person to ever roll the bones at the Sahara, arrive well before the doors are locked at 2 pm.

Last month I took a farewell spin through the old girl. It’s not as if we had a life-long love affair (I’m too young to have known the original building—the Sahara robbed by Ocean’s Eleven in the original 1960 flick.). But I have fun memories of a weekend spent here in 1999. Sure, the accommodations were a bit shabby (even then), but cheap. Twelve years later, I imagine any given room is so trashed, you’d think Led Zeppelin just checked out, and it hasn't been AAA Approved in years.  Sahara wasn’t everyone’s favorite, yet none can deny it was one of the last bastions of good old Vegas cheese.

Near the registration desk, I took a final gander at the wonderful old black-and-white photos of the hotel’s heyday: Elvis signing autographs by the pool, Liz Taylor in a chaise lounge, Sinatra on stage, Liberace flashing a million dollar smile at his candelabra-topped piano.

In the casino, I snapped pictures on the sly. And at the time, questioned the wisdom of feeding $20 into a poker machine at a joint that’s about to fold. Thirty minutes later I was $60 richer, but also sadder thinking about the long-gone Strip hotels that might’ve escaped demolition if only they’d been remodeled, stayed classy and didn’t wind up catering to shirtless frat boys in search of $1 hot dogs.

Case in point: The Tropicana (opened in 1957) is wrapping up a $165-million renovation that has put badly-needed sparkle back into “The Tiffany of The Strip.” The tired old Trop of the past 20 years is no more. White marble walkways, orange-and-gold carpet, white walls, plantation-style shutters, potted palms and cream-colored slot machine seats give the made-over casino a bright, airy South Beach feel. You half-expect the 21 dealers to be sporting pastel “Miami Vice” suits. The Las Vegas Mob Experience set up shop here in March, and the new Nikki Beach party pool and nightclub is slated to open Memorial Day weekend.

In With the New
Move over Caesars, Hard Rock and Wynn, there’s a new glitterati magnet in town. Wedged between Bellagio and CityCenter, the swank $3.9-billion Cosmopolitan opened at the tail end of last year. And in one fell, über-trendy swoop, managed to upstage its next door neighbor, Aria (CityCenter), and convincingly pull off a ‘hip Hollywood’ vibe that for the most part has eluded Planet Hollywood across the street.

Entering from the Strip, I was instantly wowed by the casino’s centerpiece, a three-story bar and lounge veiled by a giant, curtain-like crystal chandelier. Containing more than 2 million sparkling crystal beads, and bathed in soft light (a rotating palette of pale violet, baby blue and gold), it simply dazzles. I didn’t do any gambling (a hard-luck travel writer’s budget is easily stung by $15 craps tables), but if you’ve got the cash, Cosmo is an elegant place to play. 

A glass elevator glides up to the second level, where my girlfriend cruised Cosmo’s dozen-or-so trendy shops. Most boutiques in this mid-Strip neighborhood charge Chapter 13 prices. So I was surprised when she rolled out of the somewhat affordable Allsaints Spitalfields store toting a bag full of new threads.

Alas, there are no bargains at the Marquee Dayclub, which we found after a couple of escalator rides and wrong turns. Sipping premium-priced cocktails, we took in the scene: guys chatting-up bikini-clad beauties around a sleek, Strip-view swimming pool bordered by daybeds and private bungalows. On a sunny Vegas afternoon, it’s a cool spot to take a break from the Strip crawl.

Overall, I enjoyed the Cosmo, and suppose if an old timer like Sahara has to be retired, at least there’s a new casino with style to fill the void.

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