grand opening hard rock casino atlantic city

Those who remember the heavy-handed decorating taste of Donald and Ivana Trump from the Taj Mahal days won’t recognize the place: The row after row of chandeliers dominating the view as patrons would ride the main escalator down to the casino floor are gone, supplanted by a giant silver illuminated guitar suspended from the ceiling. And no one forgot the Chairman of the Board Frank Sinatra has a presence there, too. There’s even a New Jersey memorabilia room, including the handwritten lyrics to “Dreaming” by Blondie’s Debbie Harry (a Hawthorne native,) along with stuff from Bon Jovi, Wyclef Jean, Southside Johnny, and a Western Union telegram confirming a $20,000 payment for Ray Charles to perform a concert on Atlantic City’s Steel Pier in 1978. There’s a leather stage outfit worn by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry.

There are gowns worn by Stevie Nicks and Whitney Houston, and guitars played by Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Katy Perry. The car is part of a vast trove of memorabilia on display at the Hard Rock. “This is Elvis’s car that he picked the Beatles up in when they first came to Los Angeles.” “You feel a little bit of prestige behind the wheel,” he said. Driving (very carefully, with a police escort) from a warehouse in nearby Pleasantville, New Jersey, to the casino site, Emanuele parked his derriere in the same leather seat that once supported the King of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I’ve been an Elvis fan forever,” Emanuele said.

The reopenings have generated cautious optimism that better days are ahead for the seaside gambling resort that once was the only place in America outside Nevada with casinos, but which has struggled mightily as gambling spread in states all around it.Įlvis’s car is one of the first things patrons see after they pass underneath the giant replica of a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar (cherry sunburst model) at the casino’s front entrance. 'Celebration of Taylor Swift': Jason Mraz Enjoys Perfect Night on 'DWTS'Īfter a brutal two-year stretch in which five of its 12 casinos closed, Atlantic City now has nine.

Grand opening hard rock casino atlantic city