Sahara old timers to gather — at Palace Station

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | 10:53 a.m.

Former staff members of the Sahara are gearing up for their annual old-timers day reunion, when they will reminisce about the good old days at the storied resort where Louis Prima reigned supreme in the Casbar Lounge in the '50s.

The reunion will be held 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 -- at Palace Station.

Palace Station?

"None of us can stand the Sahara anymore," says Robin Feigelman, the event's organizer. "It used to be a phenomenal, wonderful place to work but it changed in the '80s and management offended and upset a lot of people, so we have nothing to do with it anymore."

The Sahara became the Sahara in 1952. Before that it was Club Bingo.

Feigelman says some who worked at Club Bingo will attend the event which was held every 18 months when it began in 1991.

"People are growing older and we started losing them so fast we decided to make it an annual reunion," says Feigelman.

Stan Irwin, entertainment director of the Sahara in the '50s and '60s, is expected to be there.

Irwin brought the Beatles to Vegas in 1964 and put them up at the Sahara.

Also on the guest list is Frank Fertitta, Jr., who once worked at the Sahara as a blackjack dealer.

In 1976 Fertitta founded the Bingo Palace, which later became Palace Station.