Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Review (Las Vegas, Nevada)

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is one of the most happening and busy casinos in Las Vegas, as it should be since it caters to a younger crowd than most others that are actually on the strip.

The Hard Rock casino floor is small compared to other venues in the city. It is dimly lit and the music is always blasting.

Service on the floor is almost absent. If you can get the attention of a server, drinks take up to twenty minutes to get to you, and often it is the wrong drink!

I had the opportunity to see Bill Mahr at the 'Joint' inside the Hard Rock Casino. I am a very big fan of Bill Mahr. I rarely miss an opportunity to catch his show on HBO and when I cannot catch it live, I do the DVR thing.

The 'Joint', in the Hard Rock, has folding chair seating like old-style movie theatres; each chair is bound to the next with a plastic retainer to keep them together. There was not a conservative to be found in the audience and those attending appeared to be up on current events.

The show itself was rather disappointing, not because it was bad, but because the material was hackneyed. Bill came onstage like a true somebody, twenty minutes late starting the show. I found it unprofessional to have to wait for the talent after paying such high prices for the tickets. He could have at least started on time. Bill's material, although insightful, was old and worn. Mose of his jokes were ones he used on his weekly show. The show played as a rehashing of stale jokes with an exceptional delivery. The Hard Rock crowd was overall pleased with his performance with the exception of Bill's bantering back and forth with someone in the audience about smoking pot that went on for about five minutes.

Getting back to the gambling at the Hard Rock Casino, let me tell you about the slots. They are tight and they take your cash fast. The floor is normally so packed that the loose slots are typically taken and as soon as one player leaves another jumps right on them. They do feature great progressives and all the up to date slots that can be found on the strip, but the payout rates are set in the mid to high eighties and you can certainly find better places to play on the strip.

Most table games were without players as most of the casino goers were drinking and partying or playing slots. This is just another sign as to the type of crowd that visits the Hard Rock.

The one bright spot inside the casino was Mr. Lucky's restaurant. More like a sports bar with fair pricing and good service, it is open 24/7 and you get full for $10, plus what you are drinking.

The outside is not well lit; one gets the feeling that if there were less people around, it would be a good area to be mugged.

As their web site tells you, the Hard Rock is a place where the gaming tables will change the size of your wallet and the rate of your pulse. None of it for the good. They also boast 600 slots, every one a winner, for them!

Of course, they cater to your every whim, including a swim up Black Jack at the Palapa where you do not have to get out of the pool to gamble.

With some many good casinos in Vegas, it is hard to understand why anyone would go to the Hard Rock to gamble. To party, yes. To see the musical heritage, definitely yes. It is no wonder this casino is not on the Strip.

The Hard Rock, although not the best brand in Vegas, have just been taken over by the Seminole Indians based out of Florida and they are planning a major upgrade of the brand. The Hard Rock Casino in Florida was ground breaking in the state, it is curious to see how the Seminoles effect the future of the brand name.

Reviewed by Terry Goodwin, editor of top casino news site, Casino Gambling Web.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
4455 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Reservation #:
800 HRD-ROCK