PHOTO: Sahara Transformation By CHASE STEVENS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL 11 years ago Construction and demolition continue Monday at the entryway of Las Vegas’ former Sahara hotel-casino, 2535 S. Las Vegas Blvd. The resort is being transformed into the SLS Las Vegas, a boutique hotel-casino that will boast 1,620 rooms when it opens in the fall of 2014. The Sahara closed in May 2011 after 59 years on the Strip.