Hard Rock Hotel saying goodbye with ‘Party Weekend’

Nearly 25 years after it first opened, the resort-casino on the corner of Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue is celebrating its final days as the Hard Rock Hotel.

The off-Strip resort-casino will host its Last Great Party Weekend Thursday through Sunday, offering free live music and a final toast. The property will shut down 3 a.m. Monday and stay closed until the fall, when it reopens as the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The Hard Rock “changed the DNA of integrated casino resorts in Las Vegas and worldwide,” said property president and CEO Richard “Boz” Bosworth.“While there’s a lot of emotion seeing the Hard Rock go, there’s equal or more excitement about the future.”

This week’s festivities are all about giving locals a chance to say goodbye to the Hard Rock, Bosworth said.

The resort-casino will host free live music with local bands, offer discounted drinks and food and give guests a chance to win memorabilia. And it will host a Super Bowl LIV watch party Sunday.

“We really feel this property is well-supported by Las Vegas,” Bosworth said. “Its last few days should be for Las Vegas.”

When the property reopens later this year, it will feature a modern desert design, a 60,000-square-foot casino and 110,000-square-feet of meeting and event space.

A look back at Hard Rock

The Hard Rock Hotel opened March 9, 1995, kicking off with performances by Al Green, Sheryl Crow and the Eagles.

The artists, and the property as a whole, were meant to attract a younger audience to Las Vegas, according to UNLV professor and gaming historian David Schwartz.

Instead of trying to draw in gamblers, Schwartz said, the facility focused on beverage options, merchandise and entertainment. While there was a casino, Schwartz said, it was tiny when compared with its neighbors, taking up only 30,000 square feet.

“It had a very big impact (in Las Vegas),” Schwartz said. “Today, you hear a lot about boutique properties, boutique hotels. The Hard Rock was really ahead of that.”

UNLV associate professor of history Michael Green said the property was an important part of Las Vegas’ evolution in the 1990s.

In the late 1980s, Green said, the city started to face competition from tribal gaming and Atlantic City casinos. To set itself apart from these destinations, Las Vegas started focusing on its entertainment options.

The Hard Rock helped lead the charge, Green said.

“There were some concert venues here, but it was very rare to have rock acts in showrooms,” Green said. “Hard Rock was a place for that field of entertainment. It was designed for that … (it) helped attract a younger demographic.”

The Joint was a major part of that evolution. The venue hosted some of the biggest names in rock over the years, including Paul McCartney, Def Leppard, Journey, Kiss, The Killers and more.

Outside of music, Schwartz said the property was also innovative with its club offerings. In 2004, the Hard Rock was the first hotel to introduce a Rehab Beach Club, according to a news release from the property.

“That was a totally different idea,” Schwartz said. “(To think,) we’ve got this pool real estate, let’s make money out of it. Rehab was very ahead of the curve.”

Bosworth said he hopes Virgin Hotels will have the same sort of impact on Las Vegas that the Hard Rock did when it first opened.

“All that good energy (at Hard Rock) needs to be carried forward,” he said. “I think we’re going to be as meaningful and as relevant as Hard Rock was in the late ’90s.”

Here’s a full lineup of live entertainment and radio broadcasts at the Hard Rock Hotel’s “Last Great Party Weekend.”

Thursday, Jan. 30

— DJ MoBlvd performs from 4 to 6 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m. at Center Bar

— JT “The Brick” from Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM is on the casino floor from 4 to 6 p.m

— Melissa Allen performs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— Shawn Eiferman performs from 6 to 9 p.m. at Peacock Lounge

— Foxx and Mackenzie from 97.1 FM are on the casino floor from 6 to 8 p.m.

— Peter Love performs from 8 to 11 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— The Growlers perform at 9 p.m. at Vinyl, tickets are $45 on the Hard Rock Hotel’s website

— All Request Live performs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Peacock Lounge

— Arrow performs from midnight to 2 a.m. at the stage hear Fu Asian Kitchen

Friday, Jan. 31

— Dayna Roselli and Sean McAllister of the “Vegas Revealed” podcast are on the casino floor from 11 a.m. to noon.

— JT “The Brick” from Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM is on the casino floor from 1 to 4 p.m.

— DJ MoBlvd performs from 4 to 7 p.m. at Center Bar

— Melissa Allen performs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— Mike O’Brien and Carla Rae of 96.3 FM are on the casino floor from 6 to 8 p.m.

— The Rhyolite Sound performs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Peacock Lounge

— Peter Love performs from 8 to 11 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— The Growlers perform at 9 p.m. at Vinyl, tickets are $45 on the Hard Rock Hotel’s website

— All Request Live performs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Peacock Lounge

Saturday, Feb. 1

— DJ Divina performs from 4 to 5 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Center Bar

— Shawn Eiferman performs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— The English Beat performs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Peacock Lounge

— Mercedes and JC of 94.1 FM will be on the casino floor from 5 to 7 p.m.

— All Request Live will perform from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at Peacock Lounge

— A final toast led by property president and CEO Richard “Boz” Bosworth begins at 8 p.m.

— Otherwise performs from 8 to 9 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— Ekoh performs from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

— The Growlers perform at 9 p.m. at Vinyl, tickets are $45 on the Hard Rock Hotel’s website

— DJ Eric Snow performs 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Center Bar

— Arrow performs midnight to 2 a.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

Sunday, Feb. 2

— JT “The Brick” from Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM and Pilar Lastra are on the casino floor from noon to 3 p.m.

— Sin City Sinners perform from 7 to 9:30 p.m., following the Super Bowl at Peacock Lounge

— Moksha performs from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Peacock Lounge

— Arrow performs from midnight to 2 a.m. at the stage near Fu Asian Kitchen

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.