Heading into the fall, Lupo is also banking on the ongoing recovery of the convention business to help drive revenue. Daniel Newcomb Architectural Photography Inc With 2,000 rooms and 150,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the resort is a prime. That energy is a big element of our appeal,” says Lupo. “It’s not often that people enter a casino dancing, as we’ve seen our customers do when they open the doors and hear the music. That translates to well over 10,000 hours of live music annually, according to Adam Zengel, director of entertainment operations, who also curates more than 30 playlists of overhead music throughout the property. During the summer, the casino hosts 25 bands per week, with three stages running simultaneously on the weekends. Hard Rock’s music-first ethos manifests in the resort’s “365 Live” programming commitment, which means there’s live music every day of the year.

“These kinds of shows might not contribute a lot to gaming revenue those nights, but they’ll cultivate overnight stays-and those fans may want to return to see another show and dine at one of our restaurants,” he says. The resort's location on Atlantic City's famous boardwalk, overlooking the iconic Steel Pier, is. This strategy also applies to attracting younger audiences with acts like The Chainsmokers, who played Hard Rock Live last month, and Greta Van Fleet, who will take the stage there for two nights in December. We can showcase the property to that new or infrequent customer with a terrific weekend, and hopefully encourage them to come back.” “It's a real experience-you can have a great dinner and go to the spa and the beach, instead of seeing a show in Philadelphia and just heading home afterward. “We’re trying to program the whole weekend,” he says. Ultimately, Lupo explains, the idea is to grow revenue by giving both new and returning guests compelling reasons to stay and explore the resort before and after the show. “Having one of the greatest entertainers in the world on our stage brings that customer out.” “I'm sure we had many new customers that walked in our door for the first time that night-and some who may have come to Atlantic City for the first time,” he says. He points to the example of Bocelli, the Italian operatic tenor who performed on June 25 at the Etess arena for a rapt audience that spanned the demographic spectrum.

Kelsey Grammer sings karaoke during a dueling pianos session at the Hard Rock Atlantic City.

Hard rock hotel and casino logo