VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
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In business the strip sahara broken down, starting transformation into sls | 25 MARCH 2013 20130325_VI09_F.indd 9 | what we need to serve it,��� Oseland said. Oseland also put into place several key executives: n Patrick Crockett is chief financial officer. He has worked in Las Vegas for 23 years, most recently as a vice president of finance at CityCenter, Crystals and the Bellagio. n Chrystal Herndon is vice president of human resources and Tom MacMahon is senior vice president of marketing. They previously worked at the Wynn. n Matt Erickson is vice president of food and beverage. He comes to the SLS from the parent company, SBE. n Luke Forzano is executive chef. He worked at the Ritz-Carlton and Wynn. n Marc Guarino is vice president of information technology. He previously worked at the Las Vegas Hilton, Desert Inn and Wynn. Oseland said SBE plans to hire 2,700 more people beginning next year. ���A City National SBA loan helped my business grow.��� When we needed to expand our business, City National presented a loan package that completely met our needs. Now we have more space to conduct business and keep growing. Our new warehouse is a stone���s throw from Sycamore Canyon, where we test ride our products. City National is Te way up�� for my business. Michael Cachat President & CEO, JensonUSA Hear Michael���s complete story at cnb.com/thewayup. Experience the City National Di���erence. SM Call (702) 425-6559 or visit cnb.com to ���nd a business banker near you. ��2013 City National Bank By Ron Sylvester���staff writer First, the sign came down. Then, the Moroccan-styled dome was dismantled. The shuttered Sahara is slowly disappearing after almost 60 years in business, making way for a new Strip resort, the SLS Las Vegas. ���SLS��� stands for ���style, luxury and service.��� Inside, the only remaining hint of the Sahara are ornate columns. The casino has been stripped to its concrete walls. The reception desk has been cleared. The Conga Room, buffet and coffee shops are gone. ���We���re in a three-month phase of demolition,��� said Rob Oseland, president of SLS Las Vegas. The gutting began long ago. Fixtures and furniture from the Sahara, which closed in 2011, were liquidated two years ago. The high-end resort project was announced in January 2012 by Los Angeles-based hotelier Sam Nazarian. Nazarian heads SBE Entertainment, a hospitality and entertainment empire with real estate, restaurant, club and hotel holdings nationwide. SBE expects to spend upwards of $750�� million on the resort, which is scheduled to open in 2014. The company already operates successful hotels in Beverly Hills and Miami���s South Beach. The SLS New York is slated to open this year. ���The SLS name is growing among the lifestyles we���re trying to reach,��� Oseland said. ���Las Vegas will benefit from that branding.��� SBE has gained a reputation for transforming old buildings into swanky hotels. The Las Vegas project will be its largest. ���This is totally different from anything we���ve done,��� said Dara Azarbarzin, the resort���s project coordinator since 2007, when SBE bought the site. ���At other places, we have 300 or 400 rooms. Here, we have four or five times as many.��� French designer Philippe Starck will design the hotel rooms, as he has for other SLS properties. Starck has set aside two model rooms in the hotel towers to test carpet, match colors and try out furniture. ���He���s designing it to be comfortable and fun and innovative,��� Oseland said. The SLS wants to entertain in all that it does, and it has started to try to market that feeling with its signs. The SLS logo depicts monkeys swinging on a chandelier. Each has its own personality. Some are mischievous, others happy. ���There���s a lot of good thinking going into where the marketplace is today and City National Business Banking Member FDIC 9 3/21/13 2:19:21 PM