Collectors, start gathering those SLS-branded souvenirs while you can. The auguries continue to accumulate that the beloved Sahara identity will 
be returning to the venerable hotel-casino. The latest sign is the changeover of the loyalty program to Club 52 (from “The Code“). In case there could be any doubt, the property issued a statement reading, “Paying homage to its roots, Club 52 represents the year the Sahara Hotel and Casino opened its doors.” Hint, hint. Strangely — according to incipient owner Meruelo Group — the changeover was initiated by current SLS management.
Comments the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Todd Prince, “Many in the casino industry said the SLS name never reverberated with gaming fans.” Why should it? It was just a Sam Nazarian wank-off, chosen because the letters looked good on the fantail of a Mercedes. They stood for nothing, a fact accentuated by the many plays on the name (“Sip liquor slowly”) that festooned the struggling resort. Had Nazarian been more attuned to marketing than self-aggrandizement, at least some of this catastrophe might have been averted. As it stands, when (not if) the Sahara name returns, it will be as though Las Vegas has awoken from a bad dream, especially if outgoing ownership takes “The Happy Blob” with it.
* In a dramatic change of events, despite holding a winning hand, the Seminole Tribe has folded its lawsuit against the State of Florida over the legitimacy of its blackjack games. Gov. Rick Scott (R) gave 
something — blackjack exclusivity until 2030 — and got something, too: $220 million upfront, with hundreds of millions more to come. While the settlement bypasses the ineffectual Legislature, dog and horse tracks could still try to block the accord in court. Still, Seminole attorney Barry Richard was exuding confidence, telling reporters, “There’s no loser to this. It gives the tribe finality and the security of knowing the games will continue. The state will continue to get a few hundred million.”
With the blackjack impasse resolved, it knocks the props out from under parimutuels that were pursuing an expansion of gambling. Now their pleas can no longer be bundled with a concomitant extension of Seminole blackjack. Also thwarted was the Lege’s attempt to increase taxes on the Seminoles for a continuation of the game. The tribes don’t get craps or roulette (*that* could be a bone of contention in the next Lege) but Scott and the Seminoles can both chalk up this day in the “win” column.
* Caesars Entertainment is coming out of bankruptcy swinging. It hasn’t allowed to the defection of Lippo Group to put it off its South Korea megaresort project. And now Australian media are tipping it as the frontrunner to join China-based ASF Consortium in building a $2.3 billion megaresort on Oz’s Gold Coast. Top Caesars exec Steven Tight was spotted scoping out the site for the planned, five-tower complex. While ASF is trying to keep the Caesars talk to a minimum, 
the latter has shown more aggression in pursuing international opportunities under CEO Mark Frissora. (This article doesn’t fail to remind us that predecessor Gary Loveman choked on Macao.) The Australia talk comes as Caesars has appointed two new executives with briefs to enlarge the company both in size and geographic reach. Caesars is still lumbering under $30 billion in debt, but that should be drastically reduced when the company emerges from bankruptcy this autumn.
* In a marketing move of dubious promise, Maryland Live is now just “Live.” Somehow we doubt that this will bring in more patrons or change the fact that Live is condemned to be an also-ran now that MGM National Harbor is in the picture.
* Don’t read this unless you’re prepared to have your heart broken.
