Headquartered in Atlanta, the restaurant used to drive waitresses with spicy chicken wings and hunky-clad waitresses into international chains. Las Vegas Strip presents its first casinos and hotels.
The grand opening begins Thursday evening with a private party and runs through the weekend. It marks the latest move for a "deliciously rustic but unrefined" restaurant that began in Clearwater, Florida in 1983 and has expanded into calendars, merchandise and even airlines.
"Hooters customers are already Vegas-affiliated customers. They're a little funky, a little energetic, and they're looking for somewhere to run. And all of these things fit together," said Ed Droste, one of six men who founded the Hooters. Four of those original partners own a third of the hotel casinos that have been renovated together.
The 696-room property, with nine restaurants/bars, is a makeover of the Hotel San Remo and, despite the makeover, offers 14,000 hotel rooms compared to the 5,035-room MGM Grand at the corner of the street.
First built in 1973, Hotel San Remo has been run by the Izumi family in Japan for the past 17 years, which has maintained a third stake in the rebranding business.
San Remo's revenue and revenue have stagnated over the past five years, dwarfing the shadows of the MGM Grand, New York-New York, Excalibur and Tropicana hotels at the nearest corner.
"San Lemo was a good little business," said Richard Langlois, senior vice president of marketing at Hooters Casino Hotel. "But the property could be better utilized with brands like Hooters."
The operator of Hooters hopes to have an annual customer base of approximately 61 million visitors from approximately 400 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and the Caribbean.
Information and booking hotlines have been set up at 80 restaurants in the Southwest region, and employees will be offered discounts and free rooms to promote bookings, executives said.
They said talks are underway with Hooters of America to fly customers to Las Vegas on Hooters Air. The Atlanta-based company bought franchises and licensing rights from its founders and later founded the airline in 2003.
Hooters casino operators have rebranded almost every part of the hotel, including using subtly placed borderline gags about its key female form appealing to married men aged 25 to 54.
From the non-disturbing sign that reads 'No knocking' to the nipper pull bar (Droste says it's named after the insects that flock to the Bahamas' famous bar), the brand continues to press its excitement with plausible denials. The Hooters Girl dealer's bobblehead doll has a 'Black Jack 101' cheat sheet under her trademark orange shorts.
More than 200 Hooters Girls, mostly employed at other casinos, will work at the resort wearing tight tank tops and short shorts, while the chain's calendar models will appear monthly to boost sales. Their images will be rotated monthly to decorate gambling tables and chips.
Thursday's "Orange Carpet" opening was set to include the appearance of NFL great Dan Marino, TV star Brooke Burke, and 40 Hooters Calendar Girls.
Printed ads, including photos of Hooters Girl posing behind a blackjack table, were considered too outrageous for the weekly news magazine Time. Time declined to run the ads, arguing that the name "Hooters" would offend readers, but Langlois added that the spot will appear in USA Today this week.
Observers said the company may be opening a niche with low-cost products in more expensive strip areas. 바카라사이트
"You know their market. It's relatively young in blue," said Hal Rossman, a Las Vegas history professor who wrote "Neon Metropolis: How did Las Vegas begin the 21st century?"
"There's really nothing else that satisfies that market," he said.
Michael Green, a history professor at Southern Nevada Community College, agreed.
"I suspect they're not going to attract big high rollers, but I suspect they're going to attract people who say they can stay there and take a quick walk to the giant resort," Green said.
The reorganization was paid for with $125 million in debt. Langlois said it expects to more than triple San Remo's annual revenue to about $100 million and have an operating profit of $22 million to $24 million.
He said the place would do well if the casino held curious visitors on the strip for a day or two.
"We think it's the best place you could have asked for."
