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The SLS Las Vegas is returning to the hotel-casino’s roots. After operating under the name SLS for five years, the property is circling back to the iconic Sahara name, starting Thursday.

First, a little civics lesson, and we’ll keep it simple.

Las Vegas has been known, unfairly, for blowing up its past. We’ve lost some buildings we wish could have been preserved. But most of the more recent losses have been confined to the resort corridor. One of the hotels to topple was the Landmark. Tearing it down was quick. Building it was a story unto itself, as was its opening, fifty years ago this past July.

We’ll be marking a couple of centennials this year, but one of them is looking back at how Nevada reacted in 1919 to things that happened in 1917 and 1918. You heard that right.

Few things in life are certain. But here's one of them: “Well, there's no question that President Trump is going to be our nominee in 2020,” says Nevada GOP spokesperson Keith Schipper.

California has the toughest gun control laws in the country and only continues to tighten them. But its efforts are undermined by a more permissive approach in other states, including the three that border California.

The name switch, announced by SLS Las Vegas owner Alex Meruelo in late June, marks a return to the property's roots. First opened at the north end of the Strip as the Sahara in 1952, the 240-room hotel made its name with some legendary live entertainment, featuring headliners such as Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Jack Benny, Tony Bennett, George Carlin, Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand, who graced the Sahara's stage in the property's heyday.

Reasons for such rebranding efforts through the years vary widely. Among other motivations, they have occurred because of disappointing numbers on the casino floor or in room booking, new owners seeking to put their own stamp on a property and marketing initiatives to reflect and better compete in the contemporary landscape.