Hard Rock: No end of trouble on Paradise

Once again the blogosphere has caught the MSM napping. Report On Vegas informs readers that the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is having a rough time meeting its bills (this was the augury of doom for Barrick Gaming‘s short-lived stewardship of six Tamares Group casinos downtown). Manager Morgans Hotel Group is going through a transitional period and lame-duck CEO Fred Kleisner got a lump of coal from Santa Claus, in the form of a $53 million loss on the year. Kleisner was spotted in Las Vegas, huddling with HRH CEO Joseph Magliarditi, who continues to try and woo the locals crowd.

However, yet another change of strategy may be in the wings, with talk of the HRH Tower being re-branded as a Mondrian. That’d be good news for Morgans, as it would mean a long-term relationship with the property, bad news for Boyd Gaming, which had expected a Mondrian as part of Morgan’s two-hotel commitment to Echelon. (Remember Echelon?) It could also presage a removal of the Hard Rock brand from the hotel-casino entirely. The Seminole Tribe is suing to get the IP rights and truTV has scuttled its Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Hotel show. Meanwhile, the property continues to demonstrate a knack for generating bad publicity.

If majority owner Credit Suisse wants to be shot of this $1.52 billion albatross, original owner Peter Morton is tipped as a potential rescuer (perhaps to impress girlfriend Linda Evangelista). Also seen on the premises was private equity billionaire Ron Burkle (left). The troubled Hard Rock would fit with Burkle’s investment strategies — and he was among the potential casino owners left out in the cold when the Pittsburgh license went to inept Don Barden. However, Burkle’s been on a losing streak of late, so he might be leery of the Hard Rock, given his less-than-anticipated liquidity. He’s no stranger to Vegas nor its lifestyle, so a Burke-to-Hard Rock saga would make good copy.

More sordid stuff. Despite being a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I have no opinion as to whether Ben Roethlisberger or Andrea McNulty is telling the whole truth regarding what took place at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in July 2008. Both principals have credibility problems. However, Caesars Entertainment seems to be taking undue pleasure in pushing McNulty under the bus. After 12 years in this town, I can tell you that if a high roller takes liberties, the victimized employee gets the blame and the whale is mollycoddled. Just ask all the people serial groper Dennis Rodman felt up during his reign as the terror of the Strip.