About an hour after they smash the ice guitar, a popular Northern Nevada funk and soul band will take the stage to kick off a new era in South Lake Tahoe hotel-casino entertainment.
Wait, they’re smashing an ice guitar? Welcome to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, formerly known as the Horizon Hotel and Casino, which is just finishing a $60 million, seven-month renovation in South Lake Tahoe. Opening Day is Jan. 28, and Reno-based Mojo Green will have the honor of being the first band to take the stage at the hotel-casino’s new music and comedy venue, Vinyl.
Hard Rock’s version of cutting the ribbon on opening day will be demolishing a giant guitar made of ice. And then, about an hour later, it’s Mojo Green, the Reno-based funk and soul band whose debut album, “Funk In Public,” was voted 2013 Northern Nevada album of the year by the Reno News and Review.
In case you were wondering if live entertainment would be a big part of the new venture, well, oh yeah, it will.
There will be two indoor venues for music and comedy at the Hard Rock: with the main one being Vinyl, the indoor theater that will hold a little more than 1,000, and a second venue that will hold about half that.
Following Mojo Green will be:
- Thursday, Jan. 29, Uncle Kracker. Genre: Rock. Became well known for solo hits such as “Follow Me” and “Endlessly”. Tickets start at $61, plus tax and fees.
- Friday, Jan. 30, Skid Row. Genre: Punk, metal, hard rock. With a string of No. 1 gold and multi-platinum singles in the late 1980s and early ’90s the band has added a new release, “United World Rebellion – Park”, which it says it is excited to unleash live on stage at Vinyl. Tickets start at $50, plus tax and fees.
- Saturday, Jan. 31, Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. Genre: Rock. Weiland has had multi-platinum success with alternative rock bands Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver. Tickets start at $50, plus tax and fees.
- Sunday, Feb. 1: Super Bowl XLIX viewing party. Several large screens throughout the casino, with all-you-can-eat menu and 2 beverage tickets included. Cost: $25 per person.
- Tickets for all shows are now available at www.hardrockcasinolaketahoe.com, or at (844) 578-ROCK.
Just a handful of days after the completion of its seven-month, $60 million renovation project, the new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is going to smash something to bits.
On Wednesday, Jan. 28 at about 7:45 p.m., they’re going to demolish the ice guitar — the Hard Rock’s version of cutting the ribbon on South Lake Tahoe’s newest hotel-casino venue. It will happen outside of Fire Break Kitchen and Bar Restaurant, one of four restaurants at the new hotel-casino.
The Hard Rock, of course, is the former Horizon Hotel and Casino, which was almost completely gutted and remodeled after its owners, the Park family, decided not to lease the property but instead oversee a renovation.
The Park family, which has owned property in the South Lake Tahoe area for more than 100 years, will cede casino-hotel operations to Las Vegas-based resort management company Warner Gaming, which also manages the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino properties in Las Vegas and Sioux City, Iowa.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino South Lake Tahoe stats:
* 539 rooms.
* Four restaurants.
* Two bars.
* 25,000-square-foot casino.
* 500 slot machines.
* “Various” table games.