In 1990 Peter Morton (son of Arnie Morton, founder of Morton's Steakhouse chain) opened a Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas about one mile east of "The Strip;" and then in 1991 he announced that he would build the world's first rock 'n 'roll hotel/casino resort adjacent to the cafe. The resort's motto would be "In Rock We Trust!"
The hotel/casino was designed as a round building (in the shape of a record) and was small by Las Vegas standards -- 30,000 square feet of gaming space in the center of the building, surrounded by 1,503 rooms.
In 1995 the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened as "The Coolest Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas" and was a "must stay" for visitors under 30 years of age. The property was filled with signed guitars, clothes from famous music artist, and lots of other rock 'n 'roll memorabilia. Above the front door there is a quote by Stevie Ray Vaughan --"When This House is Rocking Don't Bother Knocking Come On In."
Soon after opening the casino, Harley-Davidson sued the Hard Rock for trademark violations because the Harley-Davidson logo was used on 10 slot machines and gamblers could win a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as the jackpot. The slot machines were removed and the two patties reached an undisclosed settlement.
In 2002 John Entwistie of The Who died in the hotel's Room #658. Fans of The Who still request this room when making hotel reservations. On a brighter note, when the property opened the earnings from certain slot machines were donated to environmental organizations such as Conservation International and the Rainforest Foundation.
Over the years many films have been made at the Hard Rock, some of which were not too accurate. The Hard Rock is not located on "The Strip" or next to the Stratosphere, you can not see the Bellagio fountains when you look out of a hotel window, and the airplane in Con Air did not actually destroy the largest Fender Stratocaster guitar in the world that sits atop the building; but, who said that movies were factual.
When I was working for Bank of America, on several occasions I spent considerable time at the property when they were restructuring their financing. Once when visiting the property I commented on the unusual light fixtures in the hotel hallways. The fixtures were light bulbs covered with Zildjian cymbals that were used as light shades. I was really surprised when the manager told me that a number of the cymbals were stolen each night and the cost to replace the cymbals was about $28,000 per month. When I asked him why they didn't just look at the security cameras, he told me they considered the stolen cymbals to be an advertising cost because the young guests typically took the cymbals back to there homes, colleges or businesses and told all of their friends how great of a time they had at the Hard Rock.
Over the years the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino property was expanded and remodeled various times. Unfortunately, the "younger visitors" have now become the "older generation" that appreciate a more relaxed atmosphere and more elegant rooms than found at the Hard Rock. Most of the current "younger visitors" have never listened to the music of the artist featured in the exhibits, and do not even know who the artist were; so in 2018 the property was sold to Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and will close February 2, 2020. Virgin Hotels will complete a $200 million renovation of the property and the management company of Warner Gamint will reopen the rebranded hotel in November of 2020, just in time for the holiday season. It is unknown what will happen to all of the rock 'n roll memorabilia, but it will probably be auctioned off.
The Hard Rock Cafe was demolished in November 2019 and the Cafe's 82-foot tall Fender Stratocaster guitar was moved to the Neon Museum in downtown Las Vegas. As a final tribute to the historic property, I made one last trip to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
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| Door Handles |
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| Casino |
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| Lounge |
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| "Viva Las Vegas" Movie Poster, Staring Elvis Presley & Ann Margret |
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| President Nixon & Elvis (Photographer Unknown) |
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| Elvis Karate Uniform |
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| Elvis Shirt and Shoulder Holstered Hand Gun |
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| Elvis Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum |
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| B.B. King's "Lucille" Gibson Guitar |
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| Tina Turner's Stage Costume |
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| Johnny Cash Guitar |
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| Beatles Record Album |
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| Spice Girls Boots |
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| Prince Clothes and Guitar |
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| Phil Collen's Boots |
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| David Bowie Suit |
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| Jon Bon Jovi Suit and Guitair |
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| Eric Clapton Suit and Guitar |
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| Sheryl Crow Suit |
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| Mick Jagger Suit |
BONUS HISTORICAL PICTURE (Our second home in South Dakota)
Our second home in South Dakota was a rental property adjacent to the north side of the Pierre Army-Air Force Training Base. After WW II, the Base became the Pierre Municipal Airport. We lived in this house until 1948. The house is still currently occupied. (Picture was taken looking east at the front of the house.)
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