{"id":6551,"date":"2013-11-19T16:42:50","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T16:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/11\/19\/will-sls-former-sahara-change-the-n-strip\/"},"modified":"2013-11-19T16:42:50","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T16:42:50","slug":"will-sls-former-sahara-change-the-n-strip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/11\/19\/will-sls-former-sahara-change-the-n-strip\/","title":{"rendered":"Will SLS (Former Sahara) Change the N. Strip?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"
\n\tA view of renovation work at the SLS Las Vegas resort (formerly the Sahara hotel-casino) Thursday, July 25, 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\tBy Ed Komenda, Las Vegas Sun<\/p>\n

\tRobert Oseland remembers the excitement he felt opening the Mirage as a blackjack dealer. He was part of something big and cutting edge, part of the future envisioned by Steve Wynn.<\/p>\n

\n\tOseland, a Chicago native who came to Las Vegas to study at UNLV, has chased that feeling throughout his career.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"
\n\tSLS President Rob Oseland<\/span><\/p>\n

\tIn the years since, he has worked as a slot executive at the Bellagio, chief operating officer at the Wynn and Encore, and now president of SLS Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\tThe brainchild of SBE Entertainment CEO Sam Nazarian, the $415 million, 1,600-room resort budding on the former grounds of the Sahara has been considered a key factor in the recovery of the Strip\u2019s struggling north end. The resort is scheduled to open next fall.<\/p>\n

\tOseland recently sat down with VEGAS INC to chat about the project.<\/p>\n

\tOn the benefits and challenges of taking over the Sahara \u2026<\/p>\n

\tWe\u2019re sort of forced into the past by taking over a 1950s building versus re-creating something. We\u2019re excited about the concentration of energy.<\/p>\n

\tIn the past, casinos were the focal point of the resort experience. As Las Vegas grew up, we built bigger and bigger and grander places, and we lost that connectivity. The lure and luster and excitement of the casino has been left behind for other experiences. It\u2019s food and beverage and nightlife oriented. The casino ends up competing for the space.<\/p>\n

\tAs a result of us having to work within the Sahara\u2019s four walls, we\u2019re able to re-create the energy we lost over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

\tOn being a model for the north end of the Strip \u2026<\/p>\n

\tA lot of people handicap the location. You know, \u201cMight as well be 10 miles away from the Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWe\u2019re turning on the lights again, and that\u2019s simply exciting. It\u2019s a dark half-mile.<\/p>\n

\tBut the city was built around the four corners of the Sahara. The roadways, the infrastructure systems, the access? It\u2019s all there. The fact that we\u2019re able to sit on that corner again is a really big advantage. It means we\u2019re going to be accessible.<\/p>\n

\tOn the location of the SLS \u2026<\/p>\n

\tIt\u2019s like 40,000 cars a day that pass by. It\u2019s the fourth-busiest intersection in the state.<\/p>\n

\tAs we move north, it\u2019s a matter of time and recovery. When we look at the reflection of when things were good, everything was moving north.<\/p>\n

\tWe\u2019re reminded by all of the failed projects, but when the economy upturns, it\u2019ll come back north again. We just happen to be the first.<\/p>\n

\tOn the Riviera helping the recovery \u2026<\/p>\n

\tThe Paragon Gaming Group has come in as a management group. They are the former owners of the Sahara. They\u2019re going to help push some life back into it.<\/p>\n

\tOn his role developing some of the Strip’s biggest resorts \u2026<\/p>\n

\tWhat I\u2019m passionate about is partnering with visionaries and entrepreneurs to help bring ideas to life. I may not be the guy who has the cutting-edge vision, but I\u2019m smart enough to smell it. I\u2019m the one who can help shape it and make it come to life. I\u2019ve found success in that kind of role.<\/p>\n

\tSo my passions are around design and development and the tension of tying one of these things down and stabilizing it.<\/p>\n

\tI was a blackjack dealer when I got to watch the Mirage open. So the excitement of being associated with that is what set the tone for me. I was fortunate to grow up with a visionary (Steve Wynn) who just had a ferocious appetite for growth. I got lucky and got on the wave and said, "Hey, you know what? I want to help figure things out." And I got put in the game to do it.<\/p>\n

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Replies:<\/h3>\n
\n

Posted by:<\/strong> TommyC on November 19, 2013, 10:44 pm<\/p>\n

We will have to try it when it opens.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A view of renovation work at the SLS Las Vegas resort (formerly the Sahara hotel-casino) Thursday, July 25, 2013. By Ed Komenda, Las Vegas Sun Robert Oseland remembers the excitement he felt opening the Mirage as a blackjack dealer. He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}