After two accidents in one month at the site of a future Hard Rock hotel in New Orleans, the company's leader is clarifying its role in the construction.
"We were not the owner or the developer of the site itself," Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and CEO of Seminole Gaming, told Cheddar Monday. "It was one of our licensees. But certainly we were excited about creating a new Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans."
Three workers were killed when parts of the upper floors collapsed October 12. On Sunday, the attempted demolition of two cranes on site left one dangling over a city street.
"Our prayers are with the families of the victims and also all the businesses surrounding the site itself, because the ripple effect here has been much more than most people realize," Allen said.
He added Hard Rock has been in the New Orleans market for decades, with its restaurant on famed Bourbon Street, and the company will work with the city and developers to "navigate through this rather challenging time."
Meanwhile, the brand is preparing to open the world's first guitar-shaped hotel in Florida Thursday: the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, a $1.5 billion project.
Part of the new resort is the $125 million Hard Rock Live entertainment venue, totaling 225,000 square feet for major performances. Maroon 5 will perform on the new stage Friday.
Other features of the flagship casino resort include entertainment, extensive gaming, a spa, fitness center, and more.
Farmers Insurance became the latest property insurance company to pull out of Florida on Tuesday despite repeated efforts by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature have made to try to calm the volatile market that is making homeownership less affordable.
Nearly 30,000 people in Mississippi were dropped from the state's Medicaid program after an eligibility review that the government ended during the pandemic.
Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday.
Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries.
