Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas)
This article contains promotional content. (January 2010) |
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino | |
---|---|
Address | 4455 Paradise Road Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 |
Opening date | 1995 |
Theme | Contemporary Chic |
No. of rooms | 670 |
Total gaming space | 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) |
Signature attractions | The Joint Body English Rehab |
Notable restaurants | NOBU 'Rare 120" |
Casino type | Land-Based |
Owner | Brookfield Asset Management and Warner Gaming, LLC.[1] |
Previous names | none |
Renovated in | 2001, 2009-2010 |
Website | Hard Rock Hotel |
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Paradise, Nevada, is an entertainment resort owned and operated by Brookfield Asset Management and Warner Gaming, LLC.. The property is located on 16.7 acres (6.8 ha) on the corner of Harmon and Paradise Road, inside the Paradise Corridor.
Features of the property include the hotel tower, a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) casino, Tahitian-style beach and swimming pool, a nightclub, five restaurants, three cocktail lounges, several retail stores, a spa, a poker room, and "The Joint", a music venue. Hard Rock earns only about 30% of its revenue from gaming, probably the lowest percentage of any major resort in the Las Vegas strip region.
History
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was built in 1995 by Peter Morton, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. It was expanded in 1999, and began another expansion in 2007. In June 2002 influential rock bassist John Entwistle of The Who died in one of the hotel's rooms. The hotel management originally refused to release the room number out of respect, but later reports indicate that Entwistle died in Room 658 (considered a "deluxe suite"). Many fans still pay tribute to Entwistle, by visiting the hotel.[citation needed]
On May 11, 2006, the Morgans Hotel Group signed definitive agreements with its partners to purchase the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. As part of the deal, MHG retains the rights to use the Hard Rock name for hotels and casinos in the Western United States and certain other territories, 23 acres (9.3 ha) of land for expansion on the corner of Harmon and Paradise for $770 million. Morgans operates the property and is a 12.8% equity partner in the venture along with DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.[2] On October 25, 2008, professional wrestling show TNA iMPACT! broadcast their first HD show from the building.
Entertainment
The Joint
The Joint is a rock club which has featured performances by the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, David Bowie, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Nine Inch Nails, and The Killers[citation needed].The "Joint" was expected to host The Who on their first leg of their US of tour of 2002. However, the death of the group's bassist John Entwistle the previous day led the group to postpone the show for several months. "The Joint" has also hosted several WEC events including WEC 42 on August 9, 2009.
The original "Joint" closed its doors in February 2009. The new "Joint" opened on April 17, 2009, with The Killers performing the inaugural concert. The opening weekend also included shows by Avenged Sevenfold on April 18 and Paul McCartney on April 19. The new venue is nearly twice the size of the original, holding up to 4,000 attendees, and features three levels including private skyboxes and VIP table seating.
Vanity nightclub
Vanity is the nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It is part of the property expansion and occupies new space. Designed by Mr. Important, the 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) venue has two bars and 60 VIP booths. The signature feature of the club is the "cyclone" chandelier which sprawls over the dance floor. The chandelier has over 20,000 crystals, each lit with individually controlled full-color LED lights. It is open Thursday through Sunday, with Thursday nights continuing the Godskitchen house music party which was hosted at Body English. The other nights are "open format"; resident DJs Clinton Sparks, Eric D-Lux, DJ Five, and Presto One provide music on the weekends. The venue is co-owned by the hotel and Jason Giambi. The venue opened on December 31, 2009, and its grand opening weekend featured performances by DJ Vice and Bob Sinclar, as well as a party hosted by Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The former nightclub was Body English. Its final day of operation was December 31, 2009. Designed by Kelly Wearstler, the space featured two self-contained bars on different levels, a large dance floor, 48 VIP booths, and a vintage $250,000 Baccarat chandelier. Body English was the home of "Sunday Pervert School" and "Indulge Fridays", mainstays of Las Vegas nightlife. The Godskitchen party was also held at Body English every Wednesday, bringing headline dance music and talent to the venue. Body English was notably the first Las Vegas residency for the late DJ AM.
Rehab
Rehab is the original pool party in Las Vegas. Each Sunday during pool season, the Beach Club at the Hard Rock transforms into a massive outdoor party. Thousands of revellers attend each week and party from morning till night (the party runs from 10:30 AM until 8:00 PM). While the resident DJ corps plays a wide variety of music, Rehab has become a noted destination for headline dance music DJs. Guest DJs have included Tiësto, Sharam of Deep Dish, Fedde Le Grand, Bad Boy Bill, BT, Donald Glaude, and Jonathan Peters. It has also become a frequent site for celebrities including Akon, Paris Hilton, Clinton Sparks, DJ Vice, and Sugar Ray. Lady Gaga made her Las Vegas debut at Rehab.
Wasted Space
Wasted Space is the newest nightlife entertainment addition at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It features a stage dedicated to live music and has hosted acts including Pink, Filter, and Snow Patrol. It opened in June 2008 with performances by Gavin Rossdale and Camp Freddy. It was voted "Best New Bar" by Citylife Carey Hart]]. Baseball superstar Jason Giambi and musicians Benji and Joel Madden are also investors.
Wasted Space closed in August of 2010 and will be replaced by a sports gambling room.[3]
Other features
- Hotel - an 11-story tower with 648 guestrooms, 64 suites, designed by Mark Zeff, and penthouses.
- Casino - a 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) casino that includes table games including, blackjack, roulette, and poker, and swim-up blackjack. The casino also features the Fender Room, a high-limit slot machine room and the Peacock Lounge, a high-limit gaming room.
- Meeting Space - over 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) of meeting space and an additional 136,000 square feet (12,600 m2) of special event space.
- Restaurants
- Nobu - Japanese, Michelin Star Restaurant
- Rare 120 - Modern American Steakhouse
- Ago - Contemporary Italian
- Mr. Lucky’s
- Pink Taco - Mexican
- Shops and Boutiques
- Love Jones - boutique
- Brannon Hair Salon
2009-2011 expansion
The multi-phase project will bring two new, modern hotel towers, including the boutique HRH tower, high fashion shopping from brands such as John Varvatos, several new restaurants and bars, a nightclub and a spa and health club, including Italian trattoria, AGO; and Wasted Space, a rock club. The expansion will also increase capacity at the pool, which will have new features including a topless-bathing section. "The Joint" will more than triple its seating capacity and new audio and lighting equipment will be installed. A new monorail station will open as part of the final phase of expansion in 2011.[citation needed]
Appearances in media
The hotel was featured in the film Con Air where the fugitive plane crashes through the hotel's prominent Fender Stratocaster guitar. The film, however, portrayed the hotel inaccurately located on Las Vegas Blvd. near the Stratosphere. The guitar was also featured in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid in which two-year-old Adam Szalinski plays the giant guitar before dropping it. The hotel is also featured prominently in the 3rd season episode "Vegas Baby, Vegas!" of Entourage and also appears in the season 1 episode "The Strip" of Fox's The O.C., and on MTV's Bam's Unholy Union. The entrance to Hard Rock was used in the movie 21.
The guitar sign of the hotel was also featured in Urban Strike as a primary target in Las Vegas Mission. Canadian hard rock group My Darkest Days filmed their video for "Porn Star Dancin'" at the Vanity nightclub in 2010.[4]
Rehab and its security, bartending, and waitressing staffs are the subject of a reality TV series on TruTV entitled Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel. The third season of the show debuted on September 7, 2010.[5]
External links
- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino official site
- Hard Rock Hotel expansion
- zeffdesign official website
- Rehab official website
- Body English official website
- Hard Rock Casino video review