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Goose Island Pub Opens This June At Hard Rock

GooseIslandPub

File under: Almost exciting news

There was a day when a beer snob could get excited about seeing Goose Island beer outside of Chicago. A cou years ago the news that Goose Island Pub was opening at the Hard Rock would have been seen as cutting edge. Not so much anymore.

Since Anheuser-Busch owns 42% of Goose Island and distributes the beer they’re no longer considered a craft beer and not seen as being special. Regardless of the taste, the beer is easy to find and that’s not very exciting. Goose Island still tastes the same (to me) but it’s lost some luster because it’s available just about everywhere in Las Vegas.

Having said all of this, I would still gladly visit Goose Island Pub if I happen to be at the Hard Rock. Here are details about Goose Island Pub from the press release.

LAS VEGAS – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas is set to open Nevada’s first Goose Island Pub this June. Goose Island Beer Company is an innovator and leader in the craft of brewing, and the resort will offer eight of its signature beers on tap, bottles of Bourbon County and a wide selection of wines, liquor and pub-style food.

Each Goose Island beer strives to define style and captivate the hearts, imaginations and palates of beer drinkers. Hard Rock Hotel’s eight Goose Island beers on tap include:

· Goose 312 Wheat Ale – an urban wheat ale with a hazy straw color, light orange hop aroma, fruity ale flavor and creamy body.
· Goose Four Star Pils – a pilsner with a saffron color, bright floral aroma, crisp flavor and light body
· Goose Green Line Pale Ale – an American pale ale with a goldenrod color, bright American hop aroma, citrus flavor and light crisp body.
· Goose Honker’s Ale – an English-style bitter with a golden sunset color, fruity hop aroma, biscuit malt flavor and soft body.
· Goose IPA – an English India pale ale with a bourbon color, grapefruit aroma, fruity hop flavor and dry body.
· Matilda – inspired by great Trappist ales, this Belgian-style pale ale is fermented with the wild yeast Brettanomyces. Matilda pours a golden sunrise color with dried fruit and clove aromas, a spicy yeast flavor and a satisfying dry finish.
· Sofie – a Belgian-style farmhouse ale with spicy white pepper, citrus tartness, a creamy vanilla finish and light body.
· Summertime Kölsch – a Kölsch with a sunshine color, floral esters, fruity flavors and crisp finish – the perfect summer session ale.

“We’ve been pouring Goose Island beers at our venues for quite some time now,” said Jon Newton, vice president of food and beverage at Hard Rock Hotel. “We are honored to welcome the pub to the Hard Rock Hotel family and are excited to serve the best beers in town.”

In addition to beverages, guests can also indulge in pub-style food at the venue. Items include:

· Cast Iron Chicago Pizza Dip – marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, basil and giardiniera; served with garlic crust on the side.
· South Side Deli – generous amount of corned beef, cole slaw, tomato and mustard made with Goose Honker’s Ale; served on rye bread with house potato chips on the side.
· Shrimp Po Boy – fried shrimp, iceberg lettuce, tomato and creole mayo made with Goose 312 Wheat Ale; served on a hoagie roll with house potato chips on the side.

Johnny Football Now A Total Rewards Member

Johnny Manziel Playing Blackjack At Hard Rock Las Vegas — Johnny Manziel Playing Blackjack At Hard Rock

Ahhhh…Jonny Football. He loves Vegas and Vegas loves him.

On previous visits to Vegas, Jonny Manziel has been spotted playing low limits blackjack and in a men’s room with a rolled up dollar bill at the Hard Rock. It seems as though Johnny Football has moved on from the Hard Rock.

Last weekend Manziel was spotted at a new casino. Multiple reports say that Johnny Football was drinking and playing blackjack at Planet Hollywood.

There’s no photographic evidence showing that Manziel was at Planet Hollywood but a tweet says he was playing blackjack and using his Total Rewards players club card.

@Johnnyhornacek3 – no pics- I was sitting next to him and his GF at the blackjack table he put down his players card and wanted to be john

— Johnny Hornacek (@Johnnyhornacek3) January 3, 2016

It doesn’t seem as though most athletes need or use a players club card but Johnny Football isn’t most athletes. If he continued his low rolling ways than Johnny Manziel is probably a lower level Total Rewards member and has to pay resort fees on his comp’d room.

Furthermore, his $10-$15 hands of blackjack may not even be rated by Total Rewards. Blackjack players might be most interested to know that Johnny Football is most likely still playing 6:5 blackjack.

Alas, there’s no photographic proof that Johnny Football was actually in Vegas this weekend. Did he attend Britney Spears‘ first show of the new year? I guess we’ll never really know if he was in Vegas flashing his Total Rewards Gold Card around.

Please, Johnny Football, never change.

Photo – TMZ Sports

Update: Check this out if you’re amused by the entire Johnny Football in Vegas story.

Rascal Flatts Rhythm & Roots Residency Returns To Hard Rock

The Rascal Flatts residency at Hard Rock earlier this year as they’re set to return in 2016. If country music is your thing the details and press release are below.

LAS VEGAS (November 16, 2015) – Multi-Platinum selling trio Rascal Flatts will return to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas for a second, nine-show residency, Rascal Flatts Rhythm & Roots, from Wednesday, February 17 to Saturday, March 5. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 20 at 10 a.m.

Rascal Flatts (Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney) wowed fans and critics last February as they performed the first-ever country residency at The Joint. Due to the run’s overwhelming success, the trio will once again make the award-winning venue their home with new shows that will highlight the original Rascal Flatts sound that fans know and love.

“We had such a great time at The Joint earlier this year,” said Joe Don Rooney. “Being the first country act to have a residency there we didn’t really know what to expect. The shows were wild and we knew that if given the chance we would come running back. We are going to mix it up a bit this time and are working through ideas on how to make it a different experience for the fans. It’s Vegas, so you can bet we’re gonna be stepping up our game.”

To date, Rascal Flatts have sold more than 22.8 million albums, more than 29 million digital downloads and more than 9 million concert tickets. They remain the most awarded country music group of the past decade with over 40 trophies from the American Country Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, American Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, People’s Choice Awards and more. Their most recent album, REWIND (Big Machine Records), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, making Rascal Flatts one of only four acts from the SoundScan era to have eight consecutive studio albums debut in the top spot.

“Rascal Flatts isn’t just one of the best country bands out there – they’re one of the best bands, period. Things really become special when a fan can see them in a venue that’s a fraction of the size of what they normally perform in,” said Bobby Reynolds, vice president of booking at AEG Live Las Vegas. “Gary, Jay and Joe Don loved the intimacy of The Joint and the connection they had with their fans – literally reaching out and touching them. They realized how much fun they had during their last residency, and we all couldn’t wait to do it again.”

“We took a huge leap of faith by switching up our signature rock ‘n’ roll residencies and bringing in a country music group,” said Chas Smith, vice president of entertainment at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “Rascal Flatts really knocked it out of the park and helped influence a lot of other country music programming on property. We are extremely excited to have these guys back at The Joint for what is sure to be another successful residency.”

Show Dates:

Wednesday, February 17 at 8 p.m.
Friday, February 19 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 20 at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, February 24 at 8 p.m.
Friday, February 26 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 27 at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2 at 8 p.m.
Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m.

Tickets start at $39.95 (plus applicable service fees) and go on sale Friday, November 20 at 10 a.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel box office, by calling 888.9.AXS.TIX or online at www.axs.com. For VIP ticket packages including premium seating options, please contact jointvip@hrhvegas.com. For groups of 12 or more, please call 702.693.4017 or contact darnson@hrhvegas.com.

For more information on Rascal Flatts, please visit www.rascalflatts.com, Facebook or Twitter.

Journey Hard Rock Las Vegas Residency Details

The long rumored Journey Hard Rock residency was confirmed today. Color me uninspired this announcement. Initial rumors were that this Journey residency was to include the original lineup featuring lead singer Steve Perry. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

Shows at The Joint will be on The Joint on April 29 and then May 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15 and 16.

Even though current singer, Arnel Pineda, is fun to watch as the singer this is nothing more than a Journey cover band in my eyes. They could be playing at the Fremont Street Experience on a random Tuesday night. Maybe Steve Perry is happy singing along with the 7th inning stretch song a San Francisco Giants games.

Tickets for Journey at the Hard Rock at over $60 after fees and taxes and go on sale January 16th. If you’d rather save the money you can see an hour of Journey’s concert in Manilla below (or buy DVD on Amazon for less than $30). It’s pretty awesome if you like Journey.

Johhny Manziel Living The Dream In Vegas. And Rolling Bills In The Restroom

Johnny Football is living the dream. Fresh out of college the 1st round NFL draft pick by the Cleveland Browns is visiting anywhere that will offer him a good time. Johnny Football’s destination on July 4th weekend was Las Vegas. HOLLA.

You might remember that Johnny Manziel visited Las Vegas when he turned 21.

John Football stayed at a suite at the Hard Rock (where he may have played 6:5 blackjack again), dined at STK at the Cosmopolitan and partied at XS at Wynn according to Norm Clarke.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that. The only questionable thing he did was get caught on camera in a public men’s room somewhere rolling a dollar bill. There are a lot of things Johnny Football could have been doing with a rolled dollar bill and none of them should be for public consumption.

As a public figure and possible NFL starting quarterback you’d think Johnny Manziel would be smarter than be caught in public doing questionable activity. We all do (or did) questionable things in Las Vegas when we were 21. Johnny Football, you do you. Viva Las Vegas!

PS: Go Jets!

Photo: Busted Coverage and the whole internet

You’ll Never Believe How Much Money Hard Rock Made On 3 Guns N Roses Shows

Axl Rose and Guns N Roses at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel Las Vegas — Axl Rose and Guns N Roses at the Hard Rock

The second Guns N Roses residency at the Hard Rock has done amazing business. Check this out from Billboard.

Venue: Las Vegas, NV – The Joint
Date: Jun. 04th, 06th & 07th, 2014
Gross Sales: $853,785
Attendance: 9,221
Capacity: 10,130
Ticket Prices: $195, $129.50, $85, $69.50

I don’t think it’s a surprise that a lot of people went to the GnR shows at the Hard Rock but selling more than 92% of the tickets for the 3 shows is great.

Def Leppard and Motley Crue have done well at the Hard Rock before and Bruno Mars is selling out his limited “residency” shows at the Cosmopolitan. These short blast residency events are working for casinos.

Expect to see more short-term residencies than long-term residencies in the future. This includes KISS who are rumored to be coming to the Hard Rock later this year (see details at Vegas Chatter).

If you’re curious about how other heavy metal bands are selling show tickets check out the full post at Metal Sucks.

Photo: VegasNews.com

Welcome To The Jungle And Other Guns N Roses Cocktails Now Available At Hard Rock

Guns N Roses Cocktail Menu At Culinary Dropout At Hard Rock Casino Las Vegas — Guns N Roses Cocktail Menu

I can’t say that I would be very excited to see Fat Axl and his Guns N Roses cover band at the Hard Rock but I think I’d like one of their drinks. Culinary Dropout debuted these three specialty cocktails to coincide with the latest GnR residency at the Hard Rock.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Angel’s Envy “Headmaster’s Private Reserve” Bourbon, Grand Marnier, Apricot Sour
Welcome To The Jungle – Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Pineapple, Lime, Red Strip Jamaican Lager
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Licor 43, Lemon Sour, Angry Orchard Hard Cider

Since I enjoy bourbon and Grand Marnier I think Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door would be my favorite of these drinks. Each drink is $12 which is on the higher end of the price range that you should expect for this kind of cocktail at the Hard Rock. These drinks would probably cost about $10 at Hard Rock if not for the Guns N Roses name.

Seeing a 50-year-old man sing songs written by a 20-year-old rarely works out. Download or buy the CD of “Appetite For Destruction” and hear how Guns N Roses songs were meant to be heard.

Photo: @KDCLasVegas

Johnny Football Turns 21, Goes Low Rollin At Hard Rock In Vegas

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel turned 21 on Friday and like any famous person he went to Las Vegas to celebrate. Can’t argue with that! He hung out at the Hard Rock like many bro’s visiting Vegas. You may remember that Johnny Football is no stranger to casinos.

Now that he’s of age, Johnny Football bro’d down with a little blackjack. Even though he may be the son of a rich man he wasn’t showing it. He was playing $10 blackjack like a normal college bro. All blackjack at Hard Rock pays 6:5. Not the best choice. Johnny Football (and the honey badger) don’t care about payouts.

Johnny Football is already a spoiled rich kid and will become a his own rich man when he enters the NFL draft next year. Maybe he’ll step his game up to compete with Charles Barkley levels of gambling when he has his own money.

Photo – TMZ Sports

Update: A source says that John Football did not step into the sportsbook all weekend.

Hotel Tonight Rooms Now Available At 9am

Hotel Tonight

Use my code MMeltzer5 for $25 off. (I also get $25 off)

Recently I decided to check out hotel tonight for hotel rooms in Las Vegas. There isn’t a week that passes where I don’t get a message asking where to get a last-minute hotel deal. I’ve heard a lot about the app and the travel people I know speak highly of it. In brief, hotel tonight provides last-minute discounted hotel rooms. The rates are for that night (you can stay up to 5 nights but rates may change) and not next month. As they say, they aren’t hotel tomorrow.

Hotel Tonight doesn’t offer rooms at every hotel – just where they can provide discounted rooms. The other day I did a quick check of rates in Las Vegas and found this basic El Cortez room for $20. It was $40 on the El Cortez website. Nice 50% discount. El Cortez doesn’t have a resort fee but if they did you would have to pay that directly to the hotel. Resort fees are noted when you book. Hotel Tonight doesn’t get involved with that nonsense.

Hotel Tonight El Cortez

There were rooms available from Hard Rock, Palms and a few other hotels in Vegas. None of the options were awesome but were all clean and cheap places to stay in different parts of Las Vegas.

Hotel Tonight is great for locals like me that may need a crash pad after a night of too much fun. The app is also great for last-minute trips to Vegas. If you’re already in Vegas for vacation you can check the app for a 2nd discount party room or suite. Yesterday there was a Palms suite for under $100. That’s the kind of deal I would get for a last-minute $5 Pai Gow rager.

Hotel Tonight App Countdown

I’m an early riser and I like to plan my day and night as early as I can. Before today Hotel Tonight rooms were only available after noon local time (anywhere you are). Today that switched. Rooms from Hotel Tonight are now available at 9am. I started writing this at 8 something but rooms for today are now available. Here’s a few options for today. The Palms suite I referenced earlier isn’t shown here but is available once again for $99.

Hotel Tonight Thursday

Hotel Tonight has room deals in other cities and is definitely an app that anyone traveling should have. You can download for iPhone and Android.

Chances Are The Song In The Casino Is Pitbull Or Train

My Vegas vacation last week took me to quite a few different casinos. In the past this meant I would hear a nice variety of music – even if it was surrounded adult contemporary or pop music. Every casino had their own vibe and the music reflected that. Nowadays there isn’t much variety in music whether you’re in the middle of the Vegas Strip or Downtown Vegas. (This speaks to a bigger issue of homogenization in Las Vegas but I’ll save that for another day.)

There was a time where I could go to the Hard Rock casino and hear only rock music. That was awesome. Those days are over and, while they still play some good rock jams, they’ve added pop and rap to the mix. This isn’t the exclusive rock soundtrack I want or expect from the Hard Rock casino but it’s better than most. With the exception of the Margaritaville section of Flamingo many casinos have a similar mix of today’s pop and rock hits.

My musical tastes are questionable (at best) but I listen to a lot of music and usually know what I’m listening to. Last week I found myself asking my friend to Shazam songs so we could find out what we were listening to. Almost every time we Shazam’d a rock song it was a song by Train. Like Lifehouse before them I know that I’ve heard Train but never knew who they were…until now.

If a disposable-middle-of-the-road pop-rock song wasn’t playing it was a pop song featuring my man Pitbull. Pitbull and I go way back to his days on TVT records when he was still rapping about butts in spanish. Now, he’s adding a little flavor to just about every pop song. I love and hate this but the world will always be a better place when I hear Pitbull. This song was the one I remember hearing most.

There’s no way to escape Pitbull or Train in the casinos so just learn the songs and make the best of it. Maybe a Pitbull and Train drinking game will distract you enough.