The Sahara poker room will fold on November 16, 2024. It opened on February 14, 2020, five weeks before casinos were ordered to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That unlucky poker room opening date may only be rivaled by Tropicana. Its poker room opened on April 15, 2011. That same day, U.S. authorities indicted PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet, effectively putting most of the U.S. online poker industry out of business.
The news was first reported by Vegas Starfish on X, formerly known as Twitter. A Sahara representative confirmed the poker room closure to Vegas Advantage.
Most cash games have a $1 jackpot drop. There is no word about if there will be a promotional pool giveaway or if the fund will be moved to another department.
At seven tables, Sahara tied with Poker Palace and Westgate for the second-smallest poker rooms in the Las Vegas market. Skyline’s poker room has two tables.
The original Sahara poker room closed in April 2011. That room specialized in 2/4 limit hold’em and dealt two daily multi-table tournaments. Most of its players and employees moved to The Strat’s poker room, which closed in 2019. SLS Las Vegas opened on the Sahara property in 2014. It did not have a poker room.
At least 40 Las Vegas poker room closures since 2012
Sahara will become the 40th Las Vegas poker room to close since 2012. That number may be 41, depending on what happens with Caesars Palace. Its poker room has been “temporarily closed” since August 2024. It is currently being used as a high-limit slots room during a renovation.
Sahara’s poker room closure will leave 17 Las Vegas poker rooms unless Caesars Palace reopens the one there by November 16, 2024. The remaining open Las Vegas poker rooms are at Aria, Bellagio, Boulder Station, Golden Nugget, Horseshoe, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Poker Palace, Orleans, Red Rock, Resorts World, Santa Fe Station, Skyline, South Point, Venetian, Westgate, and Wynn.
Sahara will be the first Las Vegas poker room to close since Flamingo in September 2021. This list shows all other Las Vegas poker rooms that have closed since 2012.
List of closed Las Vegas poker rooms
- Flamingo: September 2021
- Silver Sevens: August 2021
- Planet Hollywood: July 2021
- Binion’s: March 2020
- Cannery: March 2020
- Club Fortune: March 2020
- Excalibur: March 2020
- Green Valley Ranch: March 2020
- Harrah’s: March 2020
- Mirage: March 2020
- Palace Station: March 2020
- Rio: March 2020
- Sam’s Town: March 2020
- The Strat: October 2019
- Arizona Charlie’s Decatur: August 2018
- Treasure Island: August 2018
- Suncoast: April 2018
- Luxor: June 2017
- Monte Carlo: April 2017
- Hard Rock: March 2017
- The Linq: August 2016
- Eastside Cannery: April 2016
- Plaza: March 2016
- Aliante Casino: March 2016
- Hooters: March 2015
- Texas Station: August 2014
- Palms: June 2014
- Sunset Station: May 2014
- El Cortez: December 2013
- Circus Circus: September 2013
- M Resort: August 2013
- Riviera: June 2013
- Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall: February 2013
- Jokers Wild: October 2012
- Ellis Island: September 2012
- Tropicana: September 2012
- O’Sheas: April 2012
- Fitzgeralds: January 2012
- Silverton: January 2012
