Salah is the difference between the believers and the non-believers."

The difference between believers and non-believers is prayer.

Between Islam and polytheism and unbelief is the abandonment of salah (prayer).“ (Muslim, Iman 134; Abu Dawud, Sunnah 15)

There are several sorts of punishment, but the most basic is that the offender will experience hellfire for some time due to the number of times he failed to pray.

See Salah time in South Africa.