Khloé Kardashian, Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Niykee Heaton, Jeremy Piven, Sofia Richie and Joe Perry of Aerosmith were among the famous faces to grace the grand opening last night.
A 36-storey electric guitar-shaped hotel in Florida opened last night with glamorous event to celebrate the extraordinary US$1.5billion project. Boasting a 7,000-seat casino floor, 1,200 hotel rooms and more than 3,000 slot machines and gaming tables, the soaring blue glass venue is a major investment for the pioneering and wealthy Native American Seminole tribe.
The Guitar Hotel had its grand opening on the tribe's land in Hollywood, once only a trailer park and some smoke shops. It's the latest step in the Seminole Hard Rock empire, which includes naming rights on the Miami-area stadium where the 2020 Super Bowl will be played.
The Seminole, which consists of about 4,200 people living in reservations spread throughout south Florida, were the first tribe to enter the gaming industry when opening a high-stakes bingo hall in 1979.
Marcellus Osceola, council chairman of the Seminole in Florida, said: 'We're very thankful and we're blessed to be in a position that we can provide the general welfare and the help and assistance that tribe members need.”
“The dollars that we make here will make life a little bit easier for our members when they have health care issues or when they are trying to buy a car to transport themselves with their families.”
It's a unique addition to South Florida's tourist landscape and no hotel is like it in the world and at night, beams of light will mimic the strings of the guitar.
The hotel also has a refurbished venue for concerts and other events, starting with Maroon 5 on Friday and continuing with artists such as Sting and Billy Joel. It has a giant pool and lagoon, retail shops, restaurants, and of course gambling.
At the wild launch party last night, Johnny Depp played guitar while the likes of Khloé Kardashian, Sofia Richie and Bella Thorne, danced around him.
Jim Allen, CEO of Hard Rock International, said the brand already is filled with guitars, so why not a hotel? “Wouldn't it be really cool if we could design a hotel shaped like a guitar?' Allen remembers saying. 'Before, we were more of a locals facility. Now, we have the ability to market this internationally.”
As for the guitar shape, Allen said it's meant to be generic and not necessarily the Gibson Les Paul made famous by Page and others. But he added that Hard Rock has relationships with both Gibson and Page, and the hotel and casino features many Led Zeppelin artifacts.
“When we present the Hard Rock brand on a global basis, it literally starts with Jimmy Page saying, "It was a cool idea then and it's a cool idea now,"' Allen said.
Source: GMB/ Daily Mail
