Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

Currently: 50° | Complete forecast | Log in

Control Board recommends approval of exec’s role at Hard Rock

Image

Leila Navidi

The check-in lobby is shown at the new HRH tower at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas Monday, Dec. 28, 2009.

By (contact)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 | 2:22 p.m.

Sun Coverage

Map of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Gaming Control Board has recommended approval of a New York financier to play a key role in shaping the future of the Hard Rock hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

The Hard Rock suffered a financial loss last year and its president, Randy Kwasniewski, shot himself to death in his home last month.

The board found suitable Edward A. Johnson to acquire 33.3 percent from Ryan Sprott and Robert Neal Pomroy in DLJMP HRH VoteCo, LLC, which holds 85.4 percent of the securities in the Hard Rock.

Johnson told the board he would not be involved in the day-to-day management of the company.

He said he would be part of the “big-picture strategy” and will be at the property only one or two days a month. The management of the hotel-casino will continue under Morgan Hotel Group Co., which holds 14.1 percent.

Johnson said the property would be “watched closely.”

Johnson was appointed a director last September when Steven Rattner resigned from the board of Hard Rock Hotel Holdings, LCC, one of a number of corporations involved in the hotel-casino.

Gaming Board Chairman Dennis Neilander told Johnson it appears “you are coming in to clean it up.” He said there were no problems in the background investigation of Johnson.

He must receive final approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission, which next meets April 22 in Carson City.

Outside the meeting, Johnson declined to say how the casino was performing. He said he was barred because it is a publicly traded corporation. Its performance will be revealed in its quarterly report due out in May.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the Hard Rock reported it lost $197 million in 2009.

The Hard Rock, with an estimated 2,300 employees, broke ground in 2007 on a $750 million expansion. Its latest addition last December is a 359-room tower to attract high-end, luxury guests to the resort at Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue.

Discussion: comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.

Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.

No trusted comments have been posted.

Post a comment

Commenting requires registration.

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

If you would like to submit your comment as a letter to the editor, you may submit it here.

Most Popular

  • Viewed
  • Discussed
  • E-mailed
  • Facebook