SLS preparing countdown to Aug. 23 grand opening

17 June 2014

By Howard Stutz

The countdown has begun.

Operators of the SLS Las Vegas Hotel Casino said the $415 million hotel-casino will open at midnight Aug. 23. To herald the opening date, a countdown will begin Tuesday morning on the north Strip resort’s new marquee.

The 1,600-room property — a renovation of the Rat Pack-era Sahara — had been expected to open the last week of August prior to a grand opening celebration Labor Day weekend.

However, construction, which began in February 2013, is wrapping up ahead of schedule.

The SLS Las Vegas will employ 3,000 workers and will include an 80,000 square-foot casino, nearly a dozen restaurants and nightclubs, meeting space and 10,000-square-feet of retail.

SBE Entertainment, owners of the SLS Las Vegas, had planned to unveil the 10,000-square-foot, four-sided marquee last week, but canceled the plans in wake of the shooting death of two Metropolitan police officers and a private citizen.

To honor the officers, SLS turned on the 88-foot-tall marquee to display the shrouded Metro badge.