A guitar with no brand: Why Hard Rock Las Vegas is going ‘generic’

Jim Allen turned to understatement as he talked of how Hard Rock Las Vegas would set itself apart from The Mirage.

“We are so respectful to Steve and Elaine Wynn, but what we have planned is not at all like The Mirage,” the chairman of Hard Rock International said a few hours before the hotel closed Wednesday. “A building that is almost 700 feet tall, filled with suites, shaped like a guitar should be fairly legendary on the Las Vegas skyline.”

The Hard Rock choosing a guitar shape for its Vegas tower is obvious, with the company using the design for its Seminole Hard Rock in Florida.

I would have loved a different instrument, though, unique to the Strip. A giant snare drum, stand-up bass or Hammond B3. Or a tambourine. Maybe a keytar, or even a cowbell.

Guitarists and music fans will be curious what type of guitar is the tower’s inspiration. Is it a Gibson or Fender? Some other brand? The tower at Seminole Hard Rock resembles a Gibson by Les Paul but isn’t identified as such.

Allen said the instrument is “generic.”

“We certainly want to be respectful for our friends at Gibson and Fender,” the veteran executive said. “We have great relationships with both those companies. It’s generic so we don’t break any patents.”

Similar to Hard Rock Cafes and hotels around the world, the original Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel was laden with famous rock pieces. Stage attire worn by Prince, Mick Jagger and Britney Spears; the key to the city awarded to Elvis; Nikki Sixx’s motorcycle and several guitars in rotation were under glass around the casino.

Allen says there is a plan for some pieces to make it back to Las Vegas. But the next Hard Rock in Las Vegas will expand its cultural appeal.

“There will definitely be memorabilia. But certainly, Hard Rock today is much different than what it used to be,” Allen said. “We don’t cover the walls with memorabilia. We’re about museum-quality history, and we’re trying to educate people. And it’s all walks of life, all walks of music, culture, certainly not solely based on rock and roll.”

You can play all colors of music with that equal-opportunity guitar.

Mirage respect

Allen went far out of his way, almost off the Strip, to praise The Mirage on its final day.

“Today’s not really about Hard Rock. It’s about the legacy of The Mirage,” said the exec, who in his public statements said members of the Seminole Tribe did not attend the final day out of respect to hotel employees. “This is the building that changed gaming on a global basis. We’re excited about taking the next chapter, the next step, but it is a sad. A great resort is closing.”

First visit, last message

Allen was an exec with Trump Taj Mahal, today’s Hard Rock Atlantic City, when he visited The Mirage for the first time.

“My guess would be I came here in late 1990, and we had opened the Taj Mahal in April of ‘90,” Allen said. “We came out to see this legendary building that was just constructed and how it felt. It was just beautiful.”

To the now-former Mirage employees, Allen said, “I just thank them for all of their efforts, and we are certainly looking forward to the future, when we start rehiring again. We’ll be rehiring somewhere around 5-6,000 people, and hopefully they’ll be interested in the Hard Rock.”

It’s a three-year timeline, approximately, until Hard Rock Las Vegas is due to come online. But the ownership company and state’s Rapid Response program and Culinary Union has conducted job fairs, for the more than 3,350 employees who lost their jobs as The Mirage closed. Allen said the company is paying $80 million in severance packages, a figure he says might expand in the coming months.

These employees deserve the attention. Having attended several of these last-night, final-day events over the years, I can say a lot of these resorts (Frontier and Desert Inn leap to mind) were about shot. But The Mirage staff went beyond expectations to keep that hotel in great repair. At the end the historic resort was regal, shiny and clean.

Cool Hang Alert

Lisa Gay says, “We are expecting another packed, joyful night!” The wonderful Las Vegas vocalist is back at Dispensary Lounge with “Living Room Live” from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. Thursday, July 25. Demetrios Pappas as music director and on keys, Brahm Sheray on bass, Dave Hart on guitar and Peppe Merolla on drums. It’s a whole thing. No cover but two-drink minimum. Go to thedispensarylounge.com for intel. And as always, try the cheeseburger.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.