Morgans Hotel to buy Las Vegas resort for $770 mln
Boutique hotel operator Morgans Hotel Group Co. on Thursday said it was buying the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas along with 23 acres of adjacent land and some related assets for $770 million.
The company said it would buy the property, which includes a 647-room hotel and 30,000 square-foot casino on 16.7 acres of land, from Hard Rock Hotel’s chairman and founder Peter Morton.
Morgans Hotel, which owns and operates boutique hotels under brands such as Delano and Mondrian, said it would likely lease the casino to a third-party licensed operator.
The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Alicia Keyes, David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails have all performed at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Morgans also said it may bring in joint venture partners to further develop the property and may sell excess land.
The buyout also includes the right to use the Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Casino brands for other hotels and casinos in certain locations, the company said.
Chief Executive Edward Scheetz said in an interview the company was talking with some potential partners to lease the casino but declined to name them.
“It is a trophy property with significant excess development rights in the land as well as some valuable brand,” Scheetz said. “There is an intermediate term opportunity to expand the existing Hard Rock facility” with more rooms and gaming space.
Morton co-founded the Hard Rock brand in 1971, sold his chain of Hard Rock Cafes to the Rank Group for $410 million in 1996, his company said in a separate statement.
