Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas will shut its doors for good in February 2020 just after the Super Bowl. The decision to close the hotel and casino comes just a year after is was sold to its current owners, Virgin Hotels, in February last year. After the acquisition, the building’s new owners planned an eight-month long renovation which includes the re-branding of Hard Rock Casino to become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
The newly branded hotel is scheduled to open late 2020. Hard Rock Casino, which was previously embroiled in a customer data scandal opened for business during the renovation process. CEO at JC Hospitality, Richard Bozworth told ABC that a partial closure during the entire process is not something they are open to as it will not allow them to provide its customers with the same level of service.
Virgin Offers Hard Rock Employees Job Security
The Virgin Group has assured all 1500 Hard Rock Casino employees that the re-branding and renovation process does not affect their jobs in any way and that they will return to their jobs once the process is complete, and the hotel reopens for business. This means that employees of Hard Rock Casino will be relieved of their duties for eight whole months. Bosworth shares Virgins sentiment and said in a statement that he wants the employees to return to their posts.
Over and above granting Hard Rock Casino employees job security, Virgin plans to offer all employees a benefits package if they choose to come back. The ‘Stick Around and Come Back’ program applies to those who are still employed by the company at the time of closure. The package offers ten weeks’ worth of pay and a guaranteed job when the new hotel opens.
A Final Look at Hard Rock Casino
Hard Rock Casino first opened in 1995 as a joint project between Hard Rock Café and Harveys Lake Tahoe. Co-founder of the joint venture Peter Morton later made Hard Rock a separate entity and expanded the property which now has 1500 rooms, nightclubs, entertainment venues and several swimming pools. Years later in 2006, the hotel was once again sold off to Morgan’s Hotel Group who re-branded it to Hard Rock, removing ‘hotel & casino’ from its name. Virgin Hotels then bought the property in 2018 and decided upon a complete re-brand and upgrade. The latest renovations will cost an estimated $200 million.
