PlanetHollywood

Harrah's Takes Over Management Of Planet Hollywood

In 2007 the former Aladdin resort in Las Vegas opened as Planet Hollywood. Now the resort is going through another change. Effective tomorrow Harrah's Entertainment will manage the hotel operations at Planet Hollywood while it negotiates with lenders to buy the hotel. Planet Hollywood recently opened an expansion tower and has 2,500 rooms plus another 1,200 units that include vacation homes.

"Harrah's has been in discussions with Planet Hollywood and its lender group regarding a restructuring of the ownership of the resort. We continue to work on a plan that would allow Harrah's to own and manage the entire casino resort property," said Gary Loveman, chairman, CEO and president of Harrah's Entertainment in a press release. "In the meantime, we are pleased to take on the management of the Planet Hollywood Hotel for the current owners."

Planet Hollywood defaulted on an $860 million loan last fall. While there isn't an official deal for Harrah's to take over Planet Hollywood yet it has applied with Nevada gambling regulators for a license to run the property. Planet Hollywood has a prime location next to the Paris Las Vegas hotel on the Strip which Harrah's also owns. Harrah's also owns Caesar's Palace, the Flamingo and several other properties.

Tags: harrahs, las vegas, LasVegas, planet hollywood, PlanetHollywood

Sylvester Stallone's Restaurant Deal

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Celebrity Shopping

In the movie "Rocky Balboa" Sylvster Stallone's iconic boxer character became a restaurant owner. Now Stallone owns an Italian restaurant in real life, or at least he partly owns a whole chain of them. Stallone, Charlie Sheen and Danny DeVito celebrated the Planet Hollywood purchase of the Buca di Beppo restaurant chain on Wednesday at the restaurant's Universal City location. The restaurant will be serving Danny DeVito's Premium Limóncello, with a portion of the proceeds from Limoncello sales going to benefit The Heart Association. The chain serves family style Italian food including pizza, ravioli, and chicken Marsala at modest prices.

Stallone should be advised that restaurant owning isn't all fun and games. The Nobu chain, which is partly owned by Robert De Niro, recently paid $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the way it handle worker tips.

Gallery: Celebrity Restaurants

Source

Tags: buca di beppo, BucaDiBeppo, planet hollywood, PlanetHollywood, sylvester stallone, SylvesterStallone

Planet Hollywood Comes To Las Vegas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Events

It's official, the former Aladdin resort in Las Vegas is now the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Bruce Willis, Carmen Electra, Pete Sampras and Roger Clemens were among those who turned out on Tuesday for the official announcement that the hotel will celebrate its grand opening as the rebranded Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on Sept. 28 and 29. Willis promised that the resort will throw the biggest party Las Vegas has ever seen. The resort has been undergoing a $1 billion makeover, turning the Arabian-themed resort into a resort with a movie theme. The resort, like the Flamingo which we mentioned recently, is going for a bit of retro chic.

In total the resort will have 2,600 movie-themed guest rooms and suites and two 50-story towers with 1,200 time-share residences that will open in 2009. The resort will include the New York steak house Strip House and a Vegas version of the popular restaurant Koi. as well as a sports lounge that serves the famous Pink's hot dogs from Los Angeles. The show called "Stomp Out Loud," has opened at the property in a new $28 million theater and there is also a show by magician Hans Klok with Carmen Electra as an assistant for three months. The former Desert Passage shopping mall is now the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood and will include the first Las Vegas H&M. Rooms start at around $200 per night.

[via AP]

Source

Tags: bruce willis, carmen electra, las vegas, planet hollywood, PlanetHollywood, resort