Hard Rock Opens Doors on Tech-Heavy Flagship Café in Las Vegas

Hard Rock International is proud to announce the opening of the new Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas! Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas, which opened on September 5, 2009, is located at 3771 Las Vegas Boulevard South, anchoring the Showcase Mall development at the heart of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.

Sure to contend as one of the city's premier dining and entertainment destinations, the 42,000-square foot flagship cafe features a 950-seat restaurant, live concert venue and the world's largest Rock Shop complete with Hard Rock's limited-edition merchandise. This is Hard Rock's second cafe location in the Las Vegas market. The original Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas at Hard Rock Hotel, located at 4475 Paradise Rd., remains open and will continue to provide Rock Star service for guests.

Hard Rock welcomes back former staff members and new local talent to the team at the new location on Las Vegas Blvd. Leading the team will be General Manager Greg Thomas, who has been successfully helming the original Las Vegas cafe for a number of years. The experienced Sales & Marketing Management team of Peter Lin and Diana Webber will also join Greg as members of the veteran staff. New additions to the Vegas management team include Marketing Manager Paula Pettit, Sales and Marketing Manager Cristina Baumann and Special Events Manager Andrew Courtney, who collectively will oversee all event, sales and marketing activities for the new cafe.

"We could not be more thrilled to welcome guests to our brand new location on the Las Vegas Strip," says Greg Thomas, operations general manager for Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas. "Our three-story location, complete with live venue and one-of-a-kind technology, will be sure to deliver a kick-ass guest experience that rocks!"

Innovative technology
In addition, the authentic memorabilia collection of Hard Rock is showcased via innovative multimedia technology. The new Las Vegas cafe is the marquee location for new unique interactive experiences for guests - from right in their booth to throughout the Cafe with Microsoft Surface and the Rock Wall featuring multi-touch technology enabling fans to explore the world's greatest rock 'n' roll memorabilia collection and virtually tour all of the company's 156 venues around the world.

• Rock Wall: The largest item of the interactive suite is Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas' one-of-a-kind Rock Wall. Hard Rock partnered with Technomedia Systems and Obscura Digital on this venture to create an 18-foot wide by 4-foot tall interactive touch wall. This technology also highlights Hard Rock's unparalleled memorabilia collection on a grand scale. A guest can access and expand a single image or video to be as large as the wall itself; or up to six guests can explore their own collections in dynamic "zones" simultaneously. Crafted from a single sheet of Stewart film glass, this interactive touch screen is custom made for this Hard Rock venue. The technology behind the installation is almost as impressive as the incredible graphics of the multi-touch interface and user experience that will surely be a focal part of the cafe's unique allure.
• Microsoft Surface: The new Las Vegas cafe utilizes Microsoft Surface, providing a 360-degree, multi-user interface that uses cameras to sense objects, touch and hand gestures on the 30-inch display. Hard Rock and Vertigo collaborated to create several custom applications for use on the Microsoft Surface platform. A key feature is the worldwide memorabilia application that allows the guest to locate Hard Rock properties from around the world, explore images of both the exterior and interior of the building, then deep-zoom into the iconic memorabilia items housed within those walls. Deep zoom was previously showcased via Hard Rock's Memorabilia 2.0 online portal. This application also grants users the ability to pivot from one collection to another, using categories such as artist, year, genre, and type. Guests can also expect many other custom applications via Microsoft Surface designed to showcase Hard Rock's unique content.
• Booth Interactive: The 19" touch screen runs on a Microsoft Windows software platform and utilizes a Vertigo-written application, allowing guests to interact deeply with Hard Rock's world-famous collection. From "Deep Zoom" functionality to background information on the pieces themselves, the technology grants access to a catalogue of more than 1,000 unique memorabilia items. Guests can also plug in to the in-house music video system to cast their vote on the next song, and explore Hard Rock memorabilia related to those artists. Marquee Rock Shop merchandise items will also be accessible for browsing as part of this interface.