Guitars signed by the likes of Bob Dylan and George Michavel hang aboe the check-in desk, and the cashier's cage bears the slogan "In Rock We Trust." Elsewhere, display-case mannequins sport Prince's spangly jumpsuit and Madonna's pointy corset, while motorcycles and drum kits stand atop banks of slot machines. It's just that the whole thing is so lame, full of pony-tailed men and designer-label women trying to look like they're twenty years younger than they really are. Not even the background music is "hard rock"; it remains consistently soft and soothing.

The casino itself occupies the sunken central floor space of this circular building, so it's easy to find your way around. Much smaller than its Strip counterparts, it's also as a rule much less busy. There are so (relatiely) few rooms in the hotel, and they're so expensie, that the only time the place really comes alie is when there's a big-name gig in its lie-music enue, The Joint (tickets can cost over $200).

Peter Morton, the co-founder of the Hard Rock franchise - though the Hard Rock Hotel is the only one he still owns - is the son of Arnie Morton, who set up the steakhouse chain Morton's of Chicago . Hence the presence of A.J.'s Steakhouse , added as part of a general upgrading of the hotel's restaurants that also saw the arrial of the gourmet's dream, Nobu.

4455 Paradise Rd

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