The Hard Rock Las Vegas hotel-casino is looking to fill its leadership roster ahead of the Strip megaresort’s planned 2027 opening.
The $4 billion resort is seeking a senior vice president of gaming operations, a senior vice president of player development, a senior vice president of marketing and entertainment and a general manager for the Guitar Hotel, according to a news release.
The open positions will join the already assembled founding team of Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Las Vegas Hotel & Casino; Joe Corbo, SVP and General Counsel; Frank Cassella, Director of Finance; Morgan Lexis, SVP of Global & HRLV Sales; Sherri Sosa-Pucci, SVP of Human Resources; Paul Schillig, VP of Hospitality; Alex Terry, VP of Information Technology; Luis Rodriguez, VP of Facilities; and Orestes Guerra, VP and Chief Security Officer.
“Hard Rock Las Vegas has assembled one of the best management teams in the hospitality industry and these positions are for leaders worthy of standing alongside them,” Lupo said in a statement. “These openings are reserved for experienced leaders who will create and inspire the foundation of a positive work culture. We are building a team that works together, cares about each other, creates opportunities for growth and is hungry to win.”
The Strip’s largest resort development is making steady progress toward a late 2027 opening, as crews continue to transform the former Mirage hotel casino into what will become the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas.
When completed, the new Hard Rock complex will have nearly 3,700 hotel rooms, approximately 175,000 square feet of gaming space, two spas, multiple pools, live entertainment venues and dozens of restaurants, lounges and shops. The plant expects to employ almost 6,000 people.
“When our doors open, our team will compete hard and make sure to push the envelope and create a very successful property with no intention of slowing down,” Lupo said.
Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, bought The Mirage for $1.075 billion in 2022 from Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International. Hard Rock closed The Mirage on July 17, 2024.
DraftKings all in on predictions
DraftKings is betting big on prediction markets.
During Friday’s earnings call for the sportsbook giant, DraftKing CEO Jason Robins said the company expects to invest up to $300 million this year in prediction markets.
“I think the really important thing is the ability to grow in predictions,” he said. “We’ve got the whole other half of the country open to us now, and we haven’t even started ramping up the marketing.”
DraftKings, which does not operate in Nevada, reported revenue of $1.64 billion for the first quarter of 2026, up 17 percent from a year earlier.
Prediction sites
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzler said during an appearance at the Economic Club of Las Vegas last week that the potential widespread deployment of predictive market-style slot machines poses a bigger threat than sports betting.
“Make no mistake, that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “They’re going to take these predictive algorithms, put them in a cabinet and have … casinos that are unregulated and untaxed sitting right next to the Bellagio on Las Vegas Boulevard.
“They’ll be sitting in Dallas, Los Angeles and Hawaii. That’s where this is going.”
Prediction markets have become common under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. American Gaming Association President Bill Miller took aim at CFTC Chairman Michael Selig during his appearance at the Economic Club of Las Vegas for allowing prediction markets to allow unregulated gambling.
“The head of the CFTC, frankly, is a joke,” he said. “He somehow thinks that what he’s doing is Uber and the rest of the country is the taxi industry. That’s not the case.”
AGA examination
According to a recent survey by the American Gaming Association, 81 percent of U.S. gaming executives view prediction markets as a “very significant” threat to the regulated gaming industry. But more than 60 percent of those same executives remain optimistic about the future, expecting increased capital investment and revenue growth over the next six to 12 months.
“The legal state and tribal regulated gaming industry continues to demonstrate resilience and adaptability in a dynamic economic environment,” Miller said.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
Contact Todd Dewey at tdewey@ theplayerlounge.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
