After all that fun yesterday with Google Trends, I’m back to “real” casino news today. Peter Morton has sold the Hard Rock to Morgans Hotel Group. From the LVRJ:
The Hard Rock Hotel, a pop icon in Las Vegas with its signature neon guitar and concert venue, The Joint, has been sold to New York-based Morgans Hotel Group for $770 million, Hard Rock founder Peter Morton said Thursday.
The sale, pending regulatory approval and other conditions, includes the 647-room hotel and 30,000-square-foot casino on 17 acres at Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue, 24 adjacent acres that were planned for a hotel-condo expansion and related intellectual property.
Morton will receive about 95 percent of the net proceeds from the sale and said he doesn’t plan to develop any other properties in Las Vegas, gaming or otherwise.
“I’m taking my chips off the table,” Morton said from his Los Angeles office. “Vegas is a great town. I’ve got great people working at my hotel, and the community has been phenomenal. We tried in our own small way to make a contribution. We brought some rock ‘n’ roll to town.”
The Joint turned Las Vegas into a popular music scene destination with performances by such acts as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Coldplay, Norah Jones, David Bowie, Elvis Costello and Nine Inch Nails.
Morton built the Hard Rock in 1995 for $80 million and expanded the property in 1999 with a beach club and swimming pool that became one of the hottest party spots in town. It was chosen as one of the top 10 pools in the world by the Travel Channel. Other Hard Rock attractions include Body English nightclub, Nobu restaurant and an 8,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.
“The Hard Rock is already an extraordinary landmark and we are pleased to be able to acquire a property that has so much expansion potential,” Edward Scheetz, president and chief executive officer of Morgans, said in a statement. “Since Las Vegas is the largest hotel market in the U.S., it is key for our growth strategy. This transaction provides us with an immediate and highly visible entry into this market.”
He said the Hard Rock will complement Morgans’ existing collection of hotel brands, which include Morgans, Royalton and Hudson in New York; Delano and The Shore Club in Miami; Mondrian in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.; Clift in San Francisco; and Sanderson and St. Martin’s Lane in London.
reviewjournal.com — Business – MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: Hard Rock sold for $770 million
The article questons whether Morgans will get a gaming license or contract the casino’s management out. Since Morgans is already building a Mondrian and Delano at Echelon Place, Boyd Gaming would make sense.
I know some people probably just thought, “What are they going to do? Bring in hip young acts like Jackie Mason and Steve and Eydie?” But Boyd has plenty of experience running a cutting-edge casino with more contemporary entertainment with the Borgata. People from Vegas who haven’t seen the casino probably wonder why I’m always singing the praises of the casino. It’s because it really is that nice of a place, and it really has changed the entire Atlantic City market. So Boyd would be entirelywell-suited to run the casino; I’m not sure if there would be any spillover into entertainment (I don’t know if any of the other Morgans hotels have venues like The Joint), but that wouldn’t be so bad either. In addition, Boyd will have a few hundred (at the very least) qualified, experienced employees to place when the Stardust closes, and the Hard Rock might absorb some of them.
Granted, this is all speculation, but it’s what I see as a logical move.
I’ve stayed at the Clift in San Francisco, and it is a great modern hotel that caters to a hip crowd (yeah, I know my stay there would tend to suggest otherwise, but theyve got to let some uncool people in). When I was there, the bar/nightclub was packed with people who looked like they were right in the Hard Rock’s demographic, so I think that Morgan’s is bringing quite a bit to the table here. Maybe they’ll bring in those “moving portraits” to jazz things up.