on February 3, 2020, for renovations. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas opened on March 25, 2021. History Early years A Hard Rock Cafe opened in September 1990, on the southeast corner of the property that would eventually include the Hard Rock resort. The restaurant entrance featured a 45-foot-tall Gibson Les Paul guitar sign. The Hard Rock hotel-casino was announced on June 5, 1991, as the first such project in the company's history. It would be built beside the restaurant. Company co-founder Peter Morton said, "We did a lot of marketing studies. Everything gave us an extremely strong indication that there are a lot of 30-year-olds in America who go to Bruce Springsteen concerts and like to gamble." Groundbreaking was scheduled for later that year, with a planned opening in late 1992 or early 1993. The casino would be developed and managed by Harrah's Casino Hotels, the gaming subsidiary of Promus Companies. Plans to build the project with Harrah's were later abandoned. In September 1993, Hard Rock announced a partnership with the Lake Tahoe-based Harvey's Hotel & Casino. They formed a new corporation and planned to begin construction of the Hard Rock hotel-casino later that year for an opening in December 1994. Harvey's (also spelled "Harveys") had previously made an attempt to purchase the Bally's resort in Reno, Nevada, in 1992. Harveys' banker had also been working separately on the original Hard Rock deal between Morton and Harrah's. When the latter deal also did not work out, the banker brought Morton and Harveys together to partner on the Hard Rock project. Harveys arranged the project's financing through a consortium of six banks led by First Interstate Bank of Nevada. Morton was a majority shareholder in the project, with a 60 percent interest. Harvey's held the remaining 40 percent and also managed the property, including the casino, with a contract that was to last until March 1998. The property for the eventual resort was co-owned by Paul Lowden of Santa Fe Gaming, and the land was sold to the Hard Rock developers in 1994. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 23, 1994. Attendees included Nevada governor Bob Miller and singers B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen, Chris Isaak, and Robin Wilson. The opening was on track for December 1994. The Hard Rock was built at 4455 Paradise Road, at a cost of $90 million. The Hard Rock Hotel ultimately opened on the night