This is pretty cool and I would think good news for the place:

http://www.newsok.com/tulsa-resort-to-be-named-hard-rock-casino/article/3321943?custom_click=headlines_widget

Holy trademark infringement, Batman!

So, this isn't a "real" Hard Rock Hotel & Casino?

Incorrect! This is the "real" Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

"Cherokee Nation Enterprises announced Friday a license agreement with Hard Rock Hotel Holdings. The agreement still must be approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

As part of the Hard Rock brand, the new resort will include the traditional Hard Rock decor, memorabilia and merchandise, and will have influences from Cherokee heritage and Oklahoma's musical history."

Casino to reopen under Hard Rock name


By Staff Reports
11/14/2008 9:12 AM
Last Modified: 11/14/2008 9:19 AM


A deal is in the works to reopen the Cherokee Casino Resort as Hard Rock Casino Tulsa, the Cherokee Nation announced Friday morning.

The tribe has entered into a license agreement with Hard Rock Hotel Holdings to make the casino the first Hard Rock-branded property in the region. The agreement is pending review of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

The casino, 777 W. Cherokee St. in Catoosa, is undergoing a $155 million expansion. The new gaming floor is set to open in December, and the newly branded hotel will welcome its first guests in spring 2009.

According to a news release, the new property will bring the Hard Rock experience to Oklahoma with influences from Cherokee heritage, the state's history of musical artists and a blend of the property's current and future amenities and entertainment.

"Being part of the Hard Rock brand, combined with our current expansion, will set us apart from any other entertainment option in the region," said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises.

The tribe will retain full ownership and management of the casino.

"The Hard Rock brand is another tool that we are using to create a diversified, growing economy in northeastern Oklahoma," said Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

The new resort will include the traditional Hard Rock décor, memorabilia and merchandise. It will also feature a 19-story tower; more than 350 guest rooms; a 110,000 square foot casino; indoor and outdoor pools; 30,000 square feet of convention space; a 2,500-seat theater for concerts and sporting events; restaurants and cocktail lounges.

Tulsa World: Casino to reopen under Hard Rock name (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081114_319_Adea002744)

Mid made it sound like it wasn't legitimate or something.

Yeah, it's part of the hard rock chain. Should really make it the premier destination casino, and possible hotel, in Oklahoma, as it will have the added value of the memorabilia and maybe the chain will help it book good shows in what should be a good theater. It will be worth it to go to it without gambling a single dollar and, imo, that's what Oklahoma casino's have needed as it's hard to compete on the gaming alone.

My apologies.

I'd just never heard of the Hard Rock Hotels group.

I love the logo NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com | Hard Rock Coming To Tulsa (http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=9349788)

Sucks for Catoosa.

I see a market for t-shirts that say

my parents went to Hard Rock and all I got was a t-shirt from the wrong $*%^@ town

You guys need to remember this is BIG for the state. Not just Tulsa.

Doesn't the Seminole Nation of Florida now own the Hard Rock brand? I believe that's why the article and some of the comment above questioned the "legitimacy" of this casino being branded as "Hard Rock."

The Hard Rock brand fell on tough times, was bought up by private equity firms, and then was sold to the Seminoles. Some simple fact-checking may prove me wrong.

Overall the brand doesn't carry the same weight it once did. But I agree its a very exciting development nonetheless. Having driven by the Cherokee recently, the new hotel looks really impressive.

Good for Tulsa. They are getting it together up there. Who knows whats next.....The Hard Rock brand is such a huge name and brand, its great news. Unfortunately for OKC, we may loose some tourism to Tulsa after this.

http://www.journalrecord.com/_images/articles/labsCopy%20of%20KD_Hard%20Rock1Rip%20WEBSITE.JPG

The Cherokee Nation’s casino and resort in Catoosa is being rebranded as Hard Rock Casino Tulsa. (Photo by Rip Stell) Journal Record

http://kotv.images.worldnow.com/images/9349788_BG2.jpg
The shirts will say Hard Rock Tulsa, but the hotel and casino are located in Catoosa, not Tulsa.

yeah yeah, great for the state.
I am sick to death of Tulsa being in the game for entertainment and arts. While OKC sits back and says well that's good for the state. Boooo.

How is a casino rebranded as "Hard Rock" (that won't even have a HRC BTW), qualify as "the arts"? I agree with your theory, but don't think this example really qualifies.

Wouldnt it be really neat if instead of having casinos spread out every 20 miles. A tribe would build maybe 8 casinos on there land and make it a strip like in tunica, and try to have big names with it.. now that would be a destination travel spot, real casino hopping..

Yeah if one gets a nightly show or on the weekends like Cirque de Soleil or Blue Man Group, then I might actually go to one. If they actually had a nice restaurant that would draw my attention too.

I thought the Hard Rock name etc was passe now? I must get out more. :)

I remember going to the original HR in London fairly soon after it opened. We went there to get some burgers that resembled American ones and that is all we knew about it. However I picked up some tshirts for the kids and later they were the envy of their sets. :) Sorry for the digression but this did bring back memories. I now have revealed I am a senior citizen by this post. LOL

How is a casino rebranded as "Hard Rock" (that won't even have a HRC BTW), qualify as "the arts"?

"a 2,500-seat theater for concerts and sporting events"

Casinos can sell entertainment as a loss leader due to the gaming revenues, which allows them to bring acts into smaller venues that normally wouldn't play the market. In addition, the Hard Rock hotels are usually quasi-museums of rock and roll memorabilia. Sure, some may not consider that the "arts" (especially so close to the high brow art mecca of Tulsa, Oklahoma <insert Palin wink>), but to many it still qualifies.


I thought the Hard Rock name etc was passe now?

It is. It's very saturated and doesn't mean much, especially in terms of a restaurant brand. However, the significance here is the placing of an international brand on a Casino in Oklahoma. And while their restaurants have lost their luster, their one stand out is their hotel in Vegas, which, again, has dropped off a lot in recent years, but it is still pretty popular.

It's a big deal for the Oklahoma Casino industry as it brings some name recognition to a very uncompetitive gaming industry. Again, until we revamp our gaming laws, it probably won't be a huge deal over all, but it does add some value to Oklahoma's gaming industry, which doesn't have much to begin with. If it works, you may see some other re-branding deals across the state, which couldn't hurt.

And, yes, Tulsa gets a new T-Shirt out of it due to proximity. :)

Wouldnt it be really neat if instead of having casinos spread out every 20 miles. A tribe would build maybe 8 casinos on there land and make it a strip like in tunica, and try to have big names with it.. now that would be a destination travel spot, real casino hopping..

That would help, but again, I think until the actual gaming and regulation becomes more player oriented, you're not going to see it here.

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/14395-hard-rock-cafe-okc.html

this is why OKC will not get a hard hock cafe, it's not good enough for OKC.
OKC will ALWAYS be eating tulsa dirt.

I don't understand the fascination with Hard Rock Cafes.

The food is really no better than what you can get at any other casual dining restaurant. Besides a few trinkets from some has-been musicians hanging on the walls, what makes Hard Rock any better than TGI Fridays?

It's such a watered down brand now that now we're going to have Indian Casinos. Classy.

Hopefully they will have some emphasis on Oklahoma musicians and bands. Please dear god no Hinder stuff.

A Flaming Lips area would be awesome.

Since that is a re-brand, it should happen. There was an story today that the HRC-Casino/Hotel for Kansas Speedway has been scrapped.

Business First of Louisville - Cordish drops Kansas Speedway casino project (http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/12/01/daily65.html)

Pretty impressive for Tulsa.

Kinda odd though seeing as that area's not really an entertainment district, not even on a Quail Springs/Memorial Road level.

yeah yeah, great for the state.
I am sick to death of Tulsa being in the game for entertainment and arts. While OKC sits back and says well that's good for the state. Boooo.

i agree. with the bok arena and now this we're not going to get anything. the seminole hard rock in hollywood had good shows but the tickets were EXPENSIVE! a friend called me last year to say he had just seen steely dan there and tix were $200 apiece.

the ac/dc show and the billy joel/elton john show in april are both mid-week. there's no way i can take off 1.5-2 days of work to go to a concert. (i guess i could work the day after the show, but i'd be comatose).

i wasn't too impressed with the casino either. to me it was no different than riverwind, with guitars and posters on the walls.

Hard Rock as a fad is on it's way out. Like Midtowner says, the food sucks. Chili's is way better any day, or Applebee's, or anyone. The memorabilia isn't that cool anyway. How many people walk in to a restaurant to go to a museum?....one where you can't hear the person on the other side of the table for you. They get a lot of business from groups traveling...like school groups. But as a normal restaurant, it's surviving only by it's name and past popularity. There aren't even very many that are quality buildings. Compare the one in Chicago to Orlando. Orlando's is twice as big at least! Chicago's barely fits a few hundred people in it.

What would be more cool, is to go less "chain" and go more local so we really could tout our local groups without a corporation looming overhead. Think about how cool it would be for the School of Rock in Bricktown to open a restaurant down below...and eventually maybe showing off their own students!

When is this opening? Maybe I missed that.

I'm a fan of the HRC. I started collecting shirts from around the world and plan on making a quilt out of them when I get old and bored and learn to sew. It will be nice to put one in there from my home state. It's kind of a tradition for my son and I when we are out of town to stop by and pick up a shirt and look at what they have collected in that particular restaurant. You know the one in Hawaii has a huge shrine for Leon Russell? I thought that was pretty cool. That's the only thing most of the locals there know about Oklahoma and the Hard Rock Cafe was the reason.

Went with a group of friends to Hard Rock yesterday for a b-day...It was a pretty cool place and the rooms were nice....The casino had 3 live bands in various parts of the casino playing last night...We decided against the club Frantic since it was crazy busy and hung out at the center bar which had a younger crowd

It was nice to have several options to drink at when donating money to the Cherokees became tiresome...Definitely a pretty cool place to hit a weekend or two a year