The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

and

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

, United States. It is owned by

Gaming and Leisure Properties Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It was formed in November 2013 as a corporate spin-off from Penn National Gaming. The company own ...

and operated by Bally's Corporation, under franchise from Hard Rock International. It opened in 2007.

History

The resort was constructed in 2005 and originally scheduled to open on September 1 of that year. However, days before the scheduled grand opening,

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

struck the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

, destroying the casino and damaging the resort. Reconstruction and reopening of the property was in limbo for a time because of a legal dispute between owner Premier Entertainment and the trustee for bondholders on the property. Premier later began architectural work on a newly rebuilt facility, awaiting resolution of the dispute, prior to workers securing the property for the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Rebuilding of the facility was completed, and the casino opened to the public on June 30, 2007. 3 Doors Down opened the hotel on July 5, 2007. Other concert performances in the first month of business included

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician ...

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, Ratt, and

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen a ...

. In 2014, Twin River Worldwide Holdings (later Bally's Corporation) bought the property from

Leucadia National Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in New York City and listed on the Fortune 1000. Investments The company's major holdings are as follows: Financial Services * Jefferies Group (100%) - investment ...

for $250 million. Twin River had sought to diversify itself geographically because its Rhode Island casino faced an increase in competition from casinos to be built in Massachusetts. In 2023, Bally's sold the land and buildings to

in a

leaseback Leaseback, short for "sale-and-leaseback", is a financial transaction in which one sells an asset and leases it back for the long term; therefore, one continues to be able to use the asset but no longer owns it. The transaction is generally done ...

transaction.

Features

The newly restored facility is built on "more storm resistant" cement pilings rather than the former floating barge as originally mandated by Mississippi law, and features seven restaurants, including a

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Half Shell Oysters House, close to 500 hotel rooms and suites, a full service spa, a nightclub, over 1400 slot machines, 56 table games, outdoor beach themed pool with cabanas and swim-up bar, and a Hard Rock Live performance arena. (The poker room was closed Labor Day Weekend, 2016.) The height of the hotel is Steelman Partners was the architect, and interior designers and shop12 was the lighting designers The guitar sign on the property is a replica of a Peavey HP Signature and is tall - at the time of its construction, it was the tallest Hard Rock sign in the world. It survived the wrath of Hurricane Katrina largely intact, and was restored and repaired during the property's reconstruction.

Memorabilia

Among other memorabilia that was found by local residents and returned to the Hard Rock after Katrina was

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's Army unifor

found on a mannequin floating in the Mississippi Sound. Also on display are B.B. King's original guitar "Lucille" returned as well along with guitars from Earl Thomas Conley, Dimebag Darrell,

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

, and

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, as well as clothing from

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, along with a composite hunting bow of

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

. Some of the rock artifacts are in pristine condition, but others are part of a Katrina memorial collage.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hard Rock Hotel And Casino (Biloxi) Hard Rock Cafe Buildings and structures in Biloxi, Mississippi Casinos in Mississippi Hotels in Mississippi Resorts in Mississippi Tourist attractions in Harrison County, Mississippi Casinos completed in 2005 Hotel buildings completed in 2007 Hotels established in 2007 Casino hotels 2007 establishments in Mississippi