Description & Facts: Monorail The Sahara Hotel and Casino is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The Moroccan-themed hotel has 1720 rooms and a casino covering more than 85000 square feet (7896 m²), and sits on 55 acres (174000 m²) including the empty adjoining land. The hotel is the northernmost stop for the Las Vegas Monorail. The Sahara is the last remaining "Rat Pack" hotel, and is the northernmost resort on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip. The porte-cochere entrance, topped by an onion-dome minaret, is designed to set the Moroccan theme for arriving guests. The hotel was opened in 1952 by Milton Prell just outside of the City of Las Vegas, and was the sixth resort to open on the Strip. The resort was built by Del Webb.[1] In late 1954, the hotel hired jazz musician Louis Prima to be their late night lounge act, one of the earliest ones on the Las Vegas Strip. Along with his then wife Keely Smith and sax player Sam Butera, they created one of the hottest latenight attractions on the Strip. In 1961, the hotel was purchased by Del Webb. In 1962, a Don the Beachcomber restaurant opened in the hotel, becoming a top attraction to not only hotel guests but a variety of celebrities as well. A 24-story tower was added in 1963. The resort was the site of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for many years, mostly in the 1970s, and for a brief time in the 1990s. Ownership changed in 1995 when Archon Corporation sold the property to Bill Bennet. Bill