Friday, Sept. 24, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.
The Hard Rock Hotel, one of gambling's most recognizable names, is taking the ultimate risk with its license.
Unable to buy its peace, it has embarked on an all-out war with the Gaming Control Board in a bid to keep alive its irreverent marketing campaign aimed at the lucrative 20-something party crowd.
You probably won't find many bettors on the Strip willing to wager on the success of this dangerous strategy.
The first battle unfolds today before the Nevada Gaming Commission, which is hearing a motion from the Hard Rock's attorneys to dismiss a Control Board complaint accusing the resort of bringing discredit to the industry with its edgy billboard ads. The complaint was reinstated after the commission rejected a compromise agreement between the Hard Rock and the board in May.
Heading into today's hearing, the Hard Rock has attempted to deflect attention away from its alleged indiscretions and define the fight along First Amendment lines.
It has portrayed the Control Board as having no sense of humor and misunderstanding the satirical nature of the ads. One ad light-heartedly promoted the use of "prescription stimulants" and another joked about the "temptation to cheat."
The Control Board, however, contends that just by referring to potential illegal activity in the ads, even in a joking manner, the Hard Rock harmed the gaming industry's reputation.
And so the fight is on, with the Control Board trying to preserve its right to protect the moral integrity of the industry and the Hard Rock mounting a First Amendment defense that seeks to undermine the foundation of that authority.
The Gaming Commission, which judges complaints prosecuted by the Control Board, has the unenviable task of sorting things out. It has been bombarded with hundreds of pages of legal briefs from both sides. Unless the commission dismisses the complaint today, which isn't likely, a full-blown hearing will take place Nov. 18. It will be a donnybrook.
To give you an idea how much is on the line, the Hard Rock has obtained the support of two groups that usually are at each other's throats -- the Nevada Resort Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. Both organizations have filed briefs voicing concern that the Hard Rock's constitutional rights to free speech are being violated.
The resort association is the industry's political arm and is particularly worried because it knows the industry, as a whole, has moved toward an edgier marketing strategy to lure tourists here. Other resorts, such as the Hard Rock's chief rival, the Palms, also are pushing the advertising envelope around town. If the board, the resort association theorizes, can come down on the Hard Rock for displaying poor taste, who's next?
Bringing together the resort association and the ACLU -- which seem more comfortable fighting each other in court over whether sidewalks on the Strip are public or private -- has upped the profile of this conflict and put more pressure on regulators.
But, by pouring it on, the Hard Rock is forcing the Control Board, which is sensitive to its authority being challenged, to go all-out, too. That could put the Hard Rock's license in a very vulnerable position.
This is a resort, after all, that has acknowledged violating state regulations in the past.
One of the reasons the Hard Rock is in trouble this time is that it reneged on a promise to run future ads by an internal compliance committee.
It made that pledge two years ago when it paid a $100,000 fine to resolve another Control Board complaint accusing the hotel of allowing public sex acts to take place at one of its nightclubs.
So as much as the Hard Rock would like to turn this into a First Amendment fight, the reality is that it's more than that.
It's a fight over whether a famous licensee should be punished for not following the rules.
archive
