Las Vegas Weekly

August 28, 2009 · 10:42 AM

Sleeping Sahara prepares to awaken the Strip

By Robin Leach

Sahara Buffet inside Sahara.

Photo: Sahara

It’s as if a giant is waking up from a long sleep! The quiet-until-now Sahara is gearing up for an exciting upcoming season of major events for the Strip, complete with newly added shows, a hot tattoo shop and the huge BikeFest.

It starts next weekend with the reopening of the legendary House of Lords Steakhouse over Labor Day. The one-time favorite restaurant of regulars Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin when it was the hottest steakhouse in town is being relaunched with new menu items at wallet-friendly prices with the old Vegas atmosphere still intact!

The Sahara also will welcome its first tattoo shop in 57 years in October. 3 Lions Tattoo, which for many years has had a home inside the nearby Riviera, will expand with a second location inside the Sahara. 3 Lions, which will feature some of the most talented tattoo artists in Las Vegas, is in the main lobby across from the front desk and will be open seven days a week until 2 a.m., with extended weekend hours.

Timing is perfect because starting Oct. 1, the Sahara becomes official headquarters for BikeFest 2009 running through Oct. 4. Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and their beautiful bikes will take over the town!

Attractions include a kickoff poker tournament, a Molly Hatchet concert with special guests Blue Storm, a wet wife-beater contest, bikini tricycle races, a bourbon paired beef dinner with leatherwear fashion show, and an all-you-can-eat beer fest BBQ with one lucky rider winning a 2009 Harley Davidson Cross Bones bike.

Since 1952, the Sahara has been a desert jewel rich with history and nostalgia over those 57 years. The last remaining Rat Pack resort, the Sahara was the setting for the original Ocean’s Eleven film and has played host to everyone from The Beatles to Marilyn Monroe.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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