BlackBook Magazine

The Hard Rock is getting some work done. A $1 billion property facelift and expansion of the destination resort is bringing the Vegas game to a whole new level. What exists is being updated—from the suites to the hallways and common areas—and expanded (Nobu, existing casino). What’s to come will entice both seasoned gamblers and Strip newbies alike. AGO, the recently opened Robert De Niro-backed Italian eatery, will be joined in June by Wasted Space, a new rock bar/live music venue with the help of Carey Hart (pictured left with Shalala) and Jason Giambi. New construction will include: two new towers (approx. 1,000 new rooms), one of which is an all-suite tower with private entrance, private valet, co-ed-style spa, restaurants, gaming area, bar and two-story villas; celebrity-designed suites; new concert venue with 4,000 seats and sky boxes; 3.5 acre pool expansion with topless bathing area, or “European-style,” as they like to call it; private gaming pit with porn star Tera Patrick. Interested? Phil Shalala, who at 34 is the youngest marketing VP in Vegas, is spearheading the Hard Rock revolution. In New York, he talked about his vision for the brand, partnering with celebs like Wilmer Valderrama, and where a Vegas man goes on vacation.

BLACKBOOK: So, this is a big year.

PHIL SHALALA: 2008’s a big year, but ’09 and ’10 will be bigger.

BB: Since the Hard Rock is such an important property, how do you think this expansion is going to affect Vegas?

PS: I think a lot of people are wondering what the Hard Rock’s going to do. We were the first ones to ever put a nightclub in a casino, and now, you have to put a nightclub in a casino. In the old days—let’s call them the early ’90s—gaming was the primary revenue driver. Now, it’s food and beverage, it’s nightclub, it’s partying, it’s the pool. It’s all the stuff we pretty much focused on while everyone else was saying, “No, no, no, it’s about the casino player.” You’re never gonna see a gimmicky-type theme sweep the Hard Rock. That’s too fabricated—it’s not the real deal.

The bowling alley at Hard Rock.

BB: There’s a exclusivity to the restaurants and brands and clubs you’re partnering with. What’s your criteria?

PS: We created Body English, we created the pool party Rehab, and Pink Taco. We like to create stuff on our own and make it big, and then franchise it. For instance, Wasted Space is our new rock bar with Carey and Jason. It’s something we’ll create together, and it’s never been done before. We’re gonna make that famous. Another thing we have coming is a new steak joint called Rare 120. That’s a partnership with the Dolce group out of L.A.—Wilmer Valderrama and those guys. We don’t really want to go out and find the hot restaurant in New York and bring it to the Hard Rock. It just doesn’t work that way. Not everything that’s great in New York or Miami or L.A. translates to Vegas.

BB: Vegas is an altogether different monster.

PS: Exactly. It’s its own deal, its own animal. For me to go out and say I want to open up a Koi, well, I wouldn’t do that because it’s not original. Anybody can do that—Caesar’s could do that, Flamingo could do that. That’s not the Hard Rock.

BB: Have you guys had any marketing campaigns that haven’t worked out the way you wanted them to?

PS: I really can’t think of any of our campaigns that didn’t go the way I wanted them to go. They’ve all been fun and irreverent; we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s kind of like, if you get it, you’re a customer, and if you don’t get it, we probably don’t want you.

BB: What’s your favorite part of the job?

PS: Everyone’s like, “You’ve got the coolest job!” But it just looks like that. It’s the most intense and time-consuming job I’ve ever had. My favorite part of it is probably the people I meet. I get to deal with some really great people, andI get to weed out the bullshitters—excuse my French—but it’s coming at you from every angle, whether it’s casinos, whether it’s brands, whether it’s hotels—everybody’s got an idea.

Shalala with De Niro.

BB: Where does someone from Vegas go on vacation?

PS: To the middle of nowhere. [Laughs.] That is a great question. I have a cabin in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere in Park City. It’s a small little cabin on top of the mountain, overlooks everything. You can’t get up there in the wintertime unless you really know where you’re going and have a serious four-wheel drive vehicle or a snowmobile. And in the summertime, it’s just the most beautiful, beautiful spot. So you go where it’s quiet, you go where you can’t be found.

BB: Given the opportunity, what would you coin as the new slogan for Vegas?

PS: Have you heard the new one? I didn’t come up with it, but it’s, “Your Vegas is showing,” which is the next generation of “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” You know, a lot of people have said that the only real property in Vegas where that campaign is true is the Hard Rock: “What happens at the Hard Rock, stays at the Hard Rock” I don’t know, a Vegas slogan for me is “work hard, play hard”. We’re all out there, working our butts off at our respective jobs—wherever we live, whether we live in New York or wherever—we’re all out there on a daily basis busting our asses. And when you come to Vegas, it’s about playing hard, and that’s really what we embrace. And on the flip side of that, we’re in Vegas working just as hard to make sure that you play just as hard. So that’s really what it’s about: working hard and playing harder.