Sahara Sold For Close To $400 Million

The biggest news of the weekend came late Friday when word came that the legendary Sahara Hotel & Casino had been sold.

Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment has reportedly purchased the Sahara from the family of late casino pioneer William Bennett for a figure reported to be somewhere between $300 and $400 million. Though SBE owner Sam Nazarian has ties in the entertainment community, including a partnership in an independent production company, he also runs a hotel division that includes the Le Meridien in Beverly Hills and the Ritz Plaza in Miami’s South Beach.

Gordon Gaming has managed the Sahara since Bennett bought the property in 1995 for $193 million and then spent more than $100 million to upgrade the resort. After Bennett’s death in 2003, his widow, Lynn Bennett, and her brother, Al Hummel, took over operation of the Sahara. Mrs. Bennett died on Dec. 2, 2006. Two other parcels of land nearby that the family had put up for sale were not included in this deal.

SBE reportedly has renovation plans for the Sahara but their spokesman told the Review-Journal that they had not yet finalized their redevelopment plans.

In a statement announcing the purchase, however, Nazarian stated, “The Sahara is one of the last remaining original properties on the Las Vegas strip, and we are thrilled with the possibilities that it presents. Our plan is to reposition this legendary property for a new generation of travelers, while preserving its existing scale. We look forward to making the Sahara the most important property on the North end of the Strip.”