Damn. The roller coaster at the Sahara Hotel & Casino has closed. I didn’t even know there was one, and now I’m upset that I never got to ride it. On Saturday, the roller coaster at the Las Vegas Strip casino took its final turn around the track.

The shutting down of the casino’s roller coaster is simply the first step in the casino’s demise. The casino, which has run for nearly six decades, will be closed down on May 16. SBE Entertainment Group, who owns the casino, says that it is losing money and it doesn’t make financial sense to continue operating the old casino. Sure, maybe it doesn’t make financial sense, but are you replacing it with another casino that has a roller coaster? Because that’s really cool!

Okay, I know that the Sahara Casino is old and not as fancy or glamorous as the newer casinos on the Strip. Still, it’s an icon, a piece of history. It’s one of the few casinos left from the Rat Pack era, when Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis frequented the casinos, putting on shows and throwing wild parties. Oh yeah, and it was also robbed by the thieves in the original Oceans Eleven movie (another Rat Pack connection), cementing its place as a super-cool casino from Las Vegas’s past.

Of course it has to go. It’s not making money and in the end, that’s what matters. Everyone should take some time, though, to remember the casino for its historical significance and unique place in the history of Las Vegas. Well, that and for the fact that it had an awesome roller coaster.

Tags: casino closure, Las Vegas casino, Sahara Hotel & Casino