The Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas closed today, and it’s a little sad for me.

I have a lot of fond memories of that place, and I’ll miss it.

When I was a teenager, my father used to take me along with him on many trips to Vegas, and we would often eat a great dinner at the Sahara’s upscale House of Lords restaurant, where I’d usually have a shrimp cocktail and a filet mignon with béarnaise sauce. I’ve yet to find a substitute that lives up to my memory (which probably exaggerates the truth somewhat) of those meals. I never saw the Rat Pack perform there, but I saw other shows including a great performance by Don Rickles.

Over the years, I’ve frequently gone back to the Sahara to gamble, both for the personal nostalgia and for the low minimum bets for blackjack and craps.

I’m going back to Vegas next month, and it will be strange to not be able to go back to the Sahara.