The Sahara was closed on May 16, 2011, as it was no longer considered economically viable. In 2013, Nazarian began a complete renovation of the resort before reopening it as the SLS Las Vegas on August 23, 2014, as part of SBE's chain of SLS hotels.
Despite its 2011 closure, the Sahara lives on. The property reopened in 2014 and operated briefly under the name SLS Las Vegas before it was sold to billionaire Alex Meruelo, who brought back its original name.
