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The Hard Rock Hotel posted its lowest revenues since 2004 despite opening new rooms and other amenities during the year, according to a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Net revenues in 2009 decreased 1.7 percent, to $161.5 million from $164.3 million in 2008. With all the new additions to the resort, only one plausible answer for the decrease in dollars is possible, the nation’s struggling economy.  The Hard Rock has been making changes nearly around the clock to attract new guests.  The revenue decline came despite last year’s opening of the 492-room Paradise Tower, the 375-room HRH Tower, new meeting space, a larger concert venue and other amenities.

Hotel revenues declined 10.1 percent and casino revenues fell 18.3 percent. In fact, it seems that the additions in hotel space were a waste of money. The availability of more rooms and the continued poor economy drove down occupancy rates to 88.2 percent last year from 91.7 percent in 2008. And with more vacancies, demand for rooms goes down.  When this happens so do room rates.  Average daily room rates declined to $134 per night from $190 per night. A major measuring stick in the casino industry is that of cash flow.  Cash flow, defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, dropped to $23.4 million for 2009 from $41.1 million for 2008. The property’s long-term debt increased to $1.2 billion on Dec. 31, from $1.03 billion in 2008. The property increased employment to help staff the $750 million expansion, which was largely completed by the end of December.

The hotel-casino employed 1,362 full-time workers and had 1,011 people on call on Dec. 31, the federal filing shows. That compares with 1,176 full-time employees and 488 on-call staff employed at the end of 2008. The property is a joint venture between New York-based hotel company Morgans Hotel Group and private equity firm DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, an affiliate of Credit Suisse. Morgans owns 12.8 percent and manages the property. The filing said a search for a new top executive has begun to replace Randy Kwasniewski. Kwasniewski was found dead in his Summerlin home March 9 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He had overseen the Hard Rock’s daily operations as president and chief operating officer since Morgans bought the property in February 2007.

The Hard Rock Hotel is following a growing trend and has announced it will implement mobile gambling. Cantor Gaming, an affiliate of the global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., and the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino announced today that Cantor Gaming will be providing mobile gaming throughout designated gaming areas of the Hard Rock resort, including Rehab and the Hard Rock Beach Club Pool. Many will ask why institute mobile gaming when those with access to to mobile games are those same people staying at the resort.  The answer, unlimited access!  Cantor Gaming’s mobile gaming device, eDeck, now offers Hard Rock customers the ability to play their favorite casino games such as table games, video poker and slots throughout public areas of the casino property, which includes bars, restaurants and lounges, as well as by the pool.

Cantor Gaming has also developed proprietary games for eDeck including XtraOdds Blackjack and XtraOdds Baccarat, with extra propositional bets that dynamically calculate odds based on the cards dealt, giving players an extra opportunity to press or hedge their bets. Lee Amaitis, President and CEO of Cantor Gaming, said: ‘We’re pleased to bring mobile gaming to the Hard Rock. We’ve had an extremely positive response to eDeck since it was first launched last March at the M Resort. The ability to play casino games away from the casino floor adds a whole new dimension to the Vegas experience, and the flexibility of mobile gaming appeals to customers who are already used to the freedom of using mobile devices in many other aspects of their lives.”

Randy Kwasniewski, President of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino added: “We are excited to welcome the addition of mobile gaming to the Hard Rock. Now, gamers are able to enjoy all the Hard Rock has to offer such as our pool and beach club, fine dining and exciting nightlife, all the while still able to bet and play casino style games on their mobile device. Mobile gaming reflects our values at Hard Rock: offering our customers innovative, creative and fresh ideas to complete a special and unique experience at our resort.”

The Seminole Tribe has created a virtual giant. The tribe based in Florida, worked with the international Hard Rock Corporation to bring their Seminole Hard Rock Casino. It was introduced to the market back in 2003 and in seven short years the casino has grown to become one of the biggest attractions in the Florida area. It is a AAA four star-rated facility located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale and its managers call it South Florida’s leading entertainment destination.  The resort features a hotel with 500 luxury guest rooms and suites, a casino with 145,000 square feet of gaming space, a 4.5 acre lagoon-style pool area, and eight major restaurants. 

Adjacent to the hotel is Seminole Paradise a 300,000 square feet outdoor entertainment complex with 22 retail shops and 17 restaurants, plus 11 bars and lounges. The complex is also home to Seminole museum and the Okalee Village tourist attraction.  Hard Rock occupies 100 acres in all. Not unlike Las Vegas’ City Center, the Seminole Hard Rock is working to bring all forms of entertainment to its visitors. Whether you love gambling, shopping, golf, shows or dining, you’ll find the right place within the casino organization to enjoy your time in Florida. 

The Seminole Hard Rock Casino houses southern Florida’s largest game room which features 50 live action poker tables and 2,500 electronic gaming machines with all your favorite games. Whether you love monopoly, Wheel of Fortune, Blazin’ Sevens or Draw Poker, you’ll find it at the location. In addition, Class III gaming has recently been initiated, and true Vegas-style slots, video poker, and video blackjack are also available.  The casino is open 24-hours a day so any visitor can find the perfect pastime when they are looking for something to do. The poker room offers both ring games and Texas Hold ‘em tournaments. Daily and sometimes twice-daily tournaments are offered, with buy-ins ranging from $100 to $1,100.  Soon the casino will offer blackjack and baccarat but other non-card-game, such as craps and roulette, however, will not be allowed. 

Hard Rock Live is a premiere theater that seats 5,500 people for concerts, sporting events and various conventions.If you are in the Florida area and want some high-quality entertainment, check out the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. It is top-notch rated for a good reason.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is hosting the first annual Trash Talk Championship of the World.  This special and highly unique event will benefit the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and will give poker players a chance to put their money where their mouth is. The $1,000 +$70 no-limit Hold’em tournament will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel‘s Poker Lounge on Saturday, February 6th, 2010. Half of the prize pool will go to philanthropic causes. The other half will be distributed to winners. In addition to the cash prize, the Trash Talk Champion will win a 20-pound custom designed crystal trophy, and a World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational seat in Los Angeles, sponsored by Commerce Casino and ClubWPT.com. 

The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was created by Sharon Osbourne after her own battle with colon cancer. Inspired by the superlative care she received, Mrs. Osbourne joined forces with Cedars-Sinai’s renowned surgeon Dr. Edward Phillips to harness key resources needed to help other colon cancer sufferers in the community.  The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program works to improve the lives of patients and their loved ones by providing at-home help, childcare, transportation, access to support groups and patient care services offered within Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The program also under writes colon cancer education for healthcare providers.

Several celebrities and professional poker players are expected to be in attendance, including Playboy Playmate Sara Underwood, artist Michael Godard, photographer Michael Vincent, FBI “tells” specialist Joe Navarro, professional poker players Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiary, Lee Markholt, Dan “Blitz” Bilzerian, High Stakes Poker guest Andrew Robl,  Keith Gipson, “Who’s Your Daddy” CEO Dan Fleyshman, World Series of Poker Champion Paul Wasicka, professional backgammon and poker player Sander Lyloff, “The Maven VT” David Chicotsky, Brian Rast, Alec Torelli, and more. A red carpet walk and cocktail reception sponsored by VictoryPoker.net starts at 2:00 PM. The tournament starts at 3:00 PM. Event highlights will include a $100-$200 high-stakes Trash Talk cash game, a silent auction, and a Team Victory after party at 10:00 PM.