The Sahara Las Vegas is owned by the Meruelo Group, a privately held conglomerate led by Cuban-American businessman Alex Meruelo. The company bought the property in April 2018, when it was still operating as the SLS Las Vegas, and restored the historic Sahara name on August 29, 2019.
The Meruelo Group
The Meruelo Group is a diversified private company with holdings in hospitality, media, food production, and banking. On the casino side, the Sahara Las Vegas sits alongside the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno as the group’s two major gaming properties.1Meruelo Group. Our Affiliates The group also runs Meruelo Media, which controls Southern California radio stations including KLOS and KPWR along with the Spanish-language television station KWHY. Rounding out the portfolio are Fuji Food, a large-scale food production business, and the Commercial Bank of California, which Meruelo co-founded.2Wikipedia. Alex Meruelo
Because the Sahara holds a nonrestricted Nevada gaming license, the Meruelo Group is subject to ongoing review by the Nevada Gaming Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Who Is Alex Meruelo
Alex Meruelo built the Meruelo Group himself, starting in construction and real estate before expanding into media, food, and gaming.3Las Vegas Review-Journal. SLS Las Vegas Owner Alex Meruelo Looking to Buy Arizona Coyotes NHL Team His first casino purchase came in early 2011, when he picked up the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno for about $42 million after its previous owners defaulted during the financial crisis. He put tens of millions into renovations and turned it into one of northern Nevada’s most profitable resorts. That track record is what positioned him to take on a Strip property.
Outside gaming, Meruelo briefly owned the Arizona Coyotes NHL franchise. He sold the team in 2024 to Ryan and Ashley Smith for $1.2 billion, keeping an exclusive right to reactivate the franchise within five years. By mid-2024 he had walked away from that option after an Arizona arena deal collapsed.4PHNX Sports. Sources: Alex Meruelo Is Walking Away From Coyotes Ownership
How the Meruelo Group Acquired the Property
The Nevada Gaming Commission approved Meruelo’s purchase of the then-SLS Las Vegas on March 22, 2018, and the deal closed on April 5, 2018.5PR Newswire. Nevada Gaming Commission Approves SLS Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Gaming License for Alex Meruelo The purchase price was never disclosed publicly. At the time of sale the property carried roughly $585 million in debt, including $400 million owed to a group of Chinese investors and $185 million in senior debt.
Meruelo moved quickly to reposition the resort. The SLS branding was retired on August 29, 2019, and the Sahara name returned. The shift was more than cosmetic. It moved the property away from the boutique-nightlife concept SLS had pursued and back toward broader Strip appeal built on decades of name recognition. Guest rooms were renovated, the casino floor refreshed, and the food and beverage lineup overhauled. The Sahara today markets itself with no resort fees and free parking, both increasingly rare on the Strip.6SAHARA Las Vegas. SAHARA Las Vegas Hotel and Casino
Who Owned the Property Before Meruelo
Stockbridge Capital and SBE Entertainment, 2007 to 2018
Before Meruelo, the property belonged to a joint venture between Stockbridge Capital Group and SBE Entertainment, the hospitality firm led by Sam Nazarian.7Los Angeles Business Journal. Meruelo Group Buying SLS Las Vegas That group bought the Sahara in 2007 for $345 million from Gordon Gaming Corporation.8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Stockbridge/SBE Investment Company LLC Form 10-K The 2008 financial crisis stalled their renovation plans, and the Sahara closed entirely on May 16, 2011. It reopened in August 2014 as the SLS Las Vegas, a Philippe Starck-designed boutique resort, but never gained traction, and the property’s debt load eventually pushed its owners to sell to Meruelo.
William Bennett and Gordon Gaming, 1995 to 2007
Casino industry veteran William “Bill” Bennett bought the Sahara in 1995 for $193 million and ran it through his company, Gordon Gaming Corporation.9NBC News. Las Vegas’ Aging Sahara Casino Sold Bennett was already known in Las Vegas for building Circus Circus Enterprises into a major gaming company. His group held the property for more than a decade before selling to the Stockbridge-SBE venture in 2007.
The original Sahara Hotel opened on October 7, 1952, and became closely associated with the Rat Pack era, hosting Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.10SAHARA Las Vegas. A Look Back at Iconic Performances Reviving that name was a deliberate choice by Meruelo to lean on a brand that still carries weight with multiple generations of visitors.