50-412: (Redirected from Blue Square ) Blue square may refer to: Blue SQ, a gambling company originally owned by The Rank Group but sold to Betfair in 2013. Piste#Ratings , a rating for ski trails Alon Blue Square , an Israeli holding company Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
100-1486: A joint venture that intended to manage Europe's first Hard Rock Hotel in Madrid , but it was never opened as a Hard Rock property upon the dissolution of the joint venture in 2007. The other joint venture hotels are in Chicago, New York, and San Diego (the San Diego property includes Hard Rock condominiums). Hard Rock also operates hotels and resorts in Orlando, Florida (a joint venture with Loews Hotels ); Bali , Indonesia ; and Pattaya , Thailand , (a joint venture with Ong Beng Seng/Hotel Properties Limited). Hard Rock International continues to expand internationally (including hotels, casinos, resorts, and condominiums) through several joint ventures (Becker Ventures, Ong Beng Seng/Hotel Properties Limited and Loews Hotels), including hotels in Chicago, Bali, Orlando, Penang , San Diego, Singapore, and planned openings in Abu Dhabi, Cancun, Dubai, Hungary, Panama, Punta Cana and Puerto Vallarta, as well as hotel-casinos in Hollywood, Florida ; Tampa, Florida ; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Catoosa, Oklahoma , just northeast of Tulsa . (The Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, MS
150-642: A 1,950-seat Hard Rock Live performance hall. In December 2021, Hard Rock purchased a casino on the Las Vegas Strip , The Mirage , from MGM Resorts for $ 1.075 billion. The deal closed in December 2022. The property will be completely renovated, but is permitted to keep using "The Mirage" name for up to 3 years. A new 36-story hotel tower in the shape of a guitar , like the one at the Seminole Hard Rock , will be added. After renovations,
200-599: A Hard Rock Cafe, live music venue, 90 foot tall replica of a Rick Nielson guitar, and will be a full-fledge Hard Rock Casino. In November 2019, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain opened adjacent to the Toyota Amphitheatre near Wheatland, California . Also in November, Hard Rock announced a new hotel in São Paulo , Brazil, in the heart of popular Paulista Avenue . In January 2021, it
250-452: A Mecca Bingo hall in Luton , causing £3000 of damage. In a meeting held between community leaders and Mecca Bingo executives on 6 January 1998, Hazel Simmons, chairwoman of equal opportunities at Luton Borough Council, said, "We are aware of a groundswell of public opinion and I personally believe this to be insensitive in what is now a truly multicultural society." However, Mecca Bingo said that
300-554: A buyer with a minimum $ 35 million bid for over two months, Hard Rock Park asked a Delaware Bankruptcy Court to convert the filing to Chapter 7 triggering immediate liquidation of assets to pay off creditors, and closing the park. New owners renamed the venue Freestyle Music Park and planned to reopen retaining a music-theme, but without the Hard Rock name, by Memorial Day , 2009. The park only operated one additional year and then closed, due to poor attendance. In August 2016, it
350-693: A new hotel in Bogotá , Colombia, which will open in 2019. The company had plans to open in the biggest financial district in Colombia, the Centro Internacional , but it revised those plans. The hotel will be located in the exclusive Zona Rosa de Bogotá , home of luxury boutiques. In July 2019, Hard Rock International announced plans for a casino in Rockford, Illinois , about 75 miles west of Chicago along I-90 . Two other proposals were made for
400-592: A number of items at auctions around the world, including autographed guitars, costumes from world tours and rare photographs; these are often to be found mounted on cafe walls. The collection began in 1979 with an un-signed Red Fender Lead II guitar from Eric Clapton , who was a regular at the first restaurant in London. Clapton wanted management to hang the guitar over his regular seat in order to lay claim to that spot, and they obliged. This prompted Pete Townshend of The Who to give one of his guitars, also un-signed with
450-458: A single view for the customer. Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme bar-restaurants , memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London . In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia , a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2007, Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc.
500-484: A wide range of online slots, videobingo, blackjack, roulette, live roulette, skill games and other casino games. In January 2015, Rank announced that it would move to a new technology platform supplied by Bede Gaming . The public announcement said the rationale for the new platform is to give greater control, flexibility and speed in integrating third-party and retail content and functionality. The platform will integrate Rank's digital and land-based businesses to allow for
550-651: Is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom . Rank was involved in the cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation 's film distribution subsidiary General Film Distributors . Its brands now include Mecca Bingo , and Grosvenor Casinos , the UK's largest casino operator. Rank's principal market and headquarters are in
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#1732775827963600-861: Is owned by Twin River Management Group, Inc.) Opened on January 20, 2010, in Singapore at Sentosa , the Hard Rock Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa is owned by the Genting Group . The Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs, California was converted into a 160-room Hard Rock Hotel and opened in 2014. It subsequently closed. A location in Atlantic City, New Jersey was planned in 2010, but those plans were canceled in 2012; however, in 2017, they acquired from Icahn Enterprises
650-519: Is titled Hard Rock Cafe. A café of that name in Los Angeles (now closed) is pictured on the back of the album. In 1977 album Simple Things , Carole King wrote the song Hard Rock Café. In her autobiography A Natural Woman, she reports that she was inspired by a bar in downtown Los Angeles and a small restaurant in Idaho with the same name. At the time, she was not aware of the similarity in name to
700-724: The Class II slots already in operation. To win approval for the table games, which were barred under Florida law, the Seminole Tribe paid the State of Florida $ 100 million as part of a 25-year pact signed by Governor Charlie Crist . On July 3, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the governor's agreement was unconstitutional, but table games continue to operate because the Federal Department of
750-502: The Gala Coral Group in a £179 million deal. With the addition of these casinos and a further three non-operating licences, Rank has become the largest casino operator in the UK, with 56 casinos. Mecca Bingo (formerly called Top Rank) is a UK-based social and bingo club leisure company, with sites located in several major towns and cities across the UK. The company operates meccabingo.com and meccagames.com as extensions of
800-714: The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas was sold to Richard Branson with plans to renovate the property under the Virgin Hotels brand; Virgin Hotels Las Vegas debuted in March 2021. Today, the Seminole Tribe of Florida owns and operates all units except the Sioux City, Tulsa, Biloxi, and Vancouver properties. In 2004, Hard Rock International and Sol Melia Hotels and Resorts launched Lifestar Hoteles España SL,
850-577: The Hard Rock rights and reverted to its former name in June 2013.) Additional casino hotels franchised from Morgan's were subsequently opened in Sioux City , Iowa and Vancouver , Canada. A Hard Rock Cafe exists in Empire, Colorado, which was established in 1934 that is not part of the chain. In 1990, The Rank Group , a London-based leisure company, acquired Mecca Leisure Group and continued expansion of
900-664: The Interior approved the now-invalid pact with the state. A similar issue stemmed with sports betting in Florida under the Hard Rock Bet app. Through a new gaming compact, the Seminole Tribe began to offer off-grounds sports betting . Once live in 2021, lawsuits caused the Seminole Tribe to halt operations. Relaunching in November 2023 for returning players, the Seminole Tribe of Florida now operates online sports betting too. Side 1 of The Doors ' 1970 album Morrison Hotel
950-539: The Mecca Bingo brand. Mecca Bingo now offers players the ability to interact with a live dealer in the desktop and mobile app (iOS and Android) platforms instead of relying on a random number generator . On 25 December 1997, many Muslims were angered that the name of their holiest city , Mecca, was also the name of a gambling company, as gambling is strictly forbidden in Islam . Bricks were thrown through windows at
1000-486: The Mississippi, including Texas , California, Australia, and Vancouver, British Columbia . The hotel began another expansion in 2007 at a cost of $ 750 million. The project added 875 rooms in two towers and expanded meeting space. In March 2011, Morgans surrendered control of the property to partner Brookfield Asset Management , citing the high debt on the property in the face of the economic downturn. In April 2018,
1050-594: The Seminole Tribe of Florida for $ 965 million. Included in the deal were 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Rank retained the Hard Rock Casino in London, and rebranded it the G Casino Piccadilly. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was also not part of the deal, as Peter Morton sold it to Morgans Hotel Group in May 2006. The final takeover
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#17327758279631100-593: The US vary from smaller, more tourist-driven markets ( Biloxi , Pigeon Forge , Key West ) to large metropolises ( Philadelphia , Baltimore , New York City , Chicago, Boston , Washington, D.C. ). Hard Rock Cafe typically does not franchise cafe locations in the United States. All U.S. cafes are corporate owned and operated, except for cafes in Tampa and in the (now closed) Four Winds New Buffalo casino. However, in
1150-668: The United Kingdom, where it operates Grosvenor Casinos (56 casinos ), Mecca Bingo (96 bingo clubs) and Rank Interactive (online gaming and betting). It also operates additional Grosvenor Casinos clubs in Belgium (two casinos), and Rank España in Spain (10 bingo clubs). Rank is listed on the London Stock Exchange . The company was formed to acquire the business interests of the Rank Organisation , which itself
1200-565: The bingo site for another 10 years. Established in 1970, Grosvenor Casinos (formerly County Clubs) is a UK-based chain of over 50 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK with two sister casinos located in Belgium . In 2010, the group had an active membership of 1 million customers across its 35 UK clubs under the Grosvenor brand. In March 2013, Rank announced that it had conditionally agreed to purchase 19 Gala Casinos from
1250-568: The chain's second location, leaving just two in that country, Niagara Falls, Ontario, and the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam, B.C. In Argentina, the first Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1995, located in Recoleta, Buenos Aires . In 2016, a location opened in Ushuaia , in the province of Tierra del Fuego, with another being opened in the city of Puerto Iguazu in 2024. In 2015, Hard Rock announced
1300-488: The city's lone casino license, but the city council only recommended the Hard Rock proposal to the Illinois Gaming Board, who will decide which site will get the license. The temporary casino, named Rockford Casino-A Hard Rock Opening Act, opened on November 10, 2021. It features a Rock Shop, Hard Rock memorabilia, slots, and two restaurants. The permanent casino is planned to open within two years and feature
1350-622: The closed Trump Taj Mahal , which in 2018 was reopened as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. All-inclusive resorts operate under the Hard Rock brand in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. In 2013, the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park opened as a joint slot machine and track venture., near Cleveland, Ohio . Then in early 2019, it was announced that JACK Cincinnati Casino in Cincinnati
1400-676: The company acquired the Blue Square betting business in 2003. Finally leaving all non-gambling leisure behind, in December 2006, Rank sold the Hard Rock business, excluding the London casino venue which was rebranded to G Casinos, to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for US$ 965 million. In May 2012, Rank agreed to purchase 23 casinos from Gala Coral for £205 million. After the Competition Commission ruled that
1450-546: The company celebrated its 50th anniversary. In 1995, Peter Morton spent $ 80 million to open the Hard Rock Hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas , Nevada . A subsequent $ 100 million expansion in 1999 nearly doubled the hotel's capacity. In May 2006, Morton sold the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas to Morgans Hotel Group for $ 770 million, including the rights to the Hard Rock Hotel brand west of
1500-424: The concept in its geographic territory. Rank went on to purchase Hard Rock America from Peter Morton as well as Hard Rock Canada from Nick Bitove. After the completion of these acquisitions, Rank gained worldwide control of the brand. In March 2007, the Seminole Tribe of Florida acquired Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. and other related entities from Rank for US$ 965 million. In 2008, anonymous members of
1550-448: The deal would only go ahead if four venues were excluded, in March 2013 Rank agreed to purchase 19 casinos from Gala Coral for £179 million, making Rank the UK's largest casino operator. In April 2013, the group sold its Blue Square interactive gaming business, launched in 1999, to Betfair . In January 2017, Rank Group and Mecca Bingo announced the renewal of their contract, which guarantees the use of Playtech 's Virtue Fusion platform at
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1600-401: The name change from Top Rank was not insensitive and was part of a policy of bringing their nationwide chain of bingo halls under one name. Sergeant Peter Shepherd said, "It was unrealistic to expect that anything definite could be resolved at the meeting, but at least it was constructive to have the dialogue." enracha is Rank's interactive Spanish gaming site launched in 2011. enracha offers
1650-473: The note "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete." Hard Rock's archive includes over 80,000 items, and is the largest private collection of Rock and Roll memorabilia in the world. Marquee pieces from the collection were briefly displayed in a Hard Rock museum named "The Vault" in Orlando, Florida from January 2003 until September 2004. After the closure, items were distributed to various restaurant locations. The London Vault remains open and free to visitors, located in
1700-722: The ownership of two Americans, Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton . Hard Rock initially had an eclectic decor, but it later started to display memorabilia. In 1978, a second location was opened in Toronto , Canada. The chain began to expand worldwide in 1982 when Morton opened Hard Rock Cafes in Los Angeles , San Francisco , Chicago , Houston , and Tigrett opened locations in Jackson, Tennessee ,New York, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Orlando as well as Paris (opened in 1991, closed in 2024) and Berlin . Hard Rock Cafe locations in
1750-460: The plan is to reopen the hotel under the name Hard Rock Las Vegas in 2027. In March 2006, Hard Rock Cafe International announced that it had licensed the "Hard Rock" name to HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, LLC, to design, build, and operate a $ 400 million 150-acre (0.61 km ) theme park called Hard Rock Park. Hard Rock Park opened on April 15, 2008, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina . The park
1800-624: The restaurant chain. HRC founders Morton and Tigrett were allegedly inspired to give the name by the same bar in Los Angeles. Olivia Molina sang the German version of the song. Until February 2017, there was a café in Heidelberg called Hard Rock Café, but it did not belong to the group; after a series of court cases, the restaurant had to change its name. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Hard Rock Cafe refused to withdraw from
1850-498: The retail Rock Shop of the original cafe. The Hard Rock Café is also in possession of a Bedford VAL three axle coach. The vehicle was completely refurbished . It is currently displayed in the US, but makes regular appearances in events in the UK, especially at the original Hard Rock Cafe in London. In 2001, a competition was run to win the bus, but it was never given away and remained with the cafe. On June 10, 2021, Hard Rock announced Lionel Messi as its Hard Rock brand ambassador as
1900-475: The title Blue square . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_square&oldid=1074647511 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Rank Group The Rank Group plc
1950-649: The transition of the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel property, originally owned and then later sold to Rank by founder Peter Morton, Morton retained hotel naming rights west of the Mississippi . When Morton sold his Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel to the Morgans Hotel Group , he also sold those naming rights, which then gave rise to two US franchised hotels (without cafes) in Albuquerque and Tulsa . (The Albuquerque hotel no longer pays for
2000-501: The wait staff in London criticized the business because of its practice of paying them less than half the official minimum wage in the UK, with the business allocating the tips to staff wages, thus bringing their salaries within the minimum wage requirements. Most customers, it was argued, do not realize that they are subsidizing a low wage when they give the tip. HRC is known for its collection of rock-and-roll memorabilia. The cafes solicit donations of music memorabilia but also purchase
2050-481: Was announced that Hard Rock will be opening a new hotel in London, Ontario , Canada, with a 353-room hotel slated to finish construction in 2025. It will be located in the 100 Kellogg Lane complex. In May 2021, a $ 300 million Hard Rock Casino location opened in Gary, Indiana about 35 minutes east of Chicago. Branded as Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, the location includes memorabilia from local natives Jackson 5 and
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2100-513: Was expected to draw an estimated 30,000 visitors per day, promised to create more than 3,000 jobs, and was billed as the largest single investment in South Carolina's history. It planned to feature a large concert arena and six zones with more than 40 attractions. HRP Myrtle Beach Operations, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 on September 25, 2008. The company hoped to re-open in 2009 after restructuring. On January 2, 2009, after failing to attract
2150-614: Was formed out of the business interests of its founder, J. Arthur Rank . Until the start of the 21st century, the group still had a tremendous amount of leisure holdings; however, as the decade progressed it divested these interests, beginning with Pinewood Studios and the Odeon cinema chain. It also shed its engineering interests, such as its share in Rank Xerox , selling Rank Leisure Machine Services to Gamestec. It sold its holiday and recreation facilities: Oasis Forest Holiday Villages
2200-618: Was known as the Corel Centre. The café closed on August 8, 2002, and was replaced with the Frank Finnigan 's restaurant. Since October 17, 2013, the restaurant is known as Chek Point, and is sponsored by SportChek . The Hard Rock Club bar was announced on October 9, 2018, and opened near the former Hard Rock Café. The bar features memorabilia from over a dozen artists, restaurant-style seating, and dedicated stadium seating. On December 7, 2006, Rank sold its Hard Rock business to
2250-464: Was latterly known as Cinema Media (now Digital Cinema Media). In December 2005, Rank sold Deluxe Film (formerly Rank Film Laboratories) for £430 million, effectively ending its 60-year association with the film and cinema business. This meant Rank Leisure had become focused on gambling operations, with its remaining business interests concentrating on Grosvenor and G Casinos, Top Rank and Mecca Bingo, and online gambling through Rank Interactive, after
2300-676: Was mired in controversy, due to a payment clause in a contract with one casino developer, Power Plant Entertainment. Power Plant and the Seminoles announced a settlement in April 2007 which both sides called equitable. On January 8, 2007, Rank shareholders approved the Seminoles' $ 965 million offer. The Tribe announced it had finalized the deal on March 11, 2007. On June 22, 2008, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood began "Vegas-style" table gambling in addition to
2350-613: Was reported that the Miami Dolphins ' stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida would be renamed Hard Rock Stadium . Super Bowl LIV was held there on February 2, 2020. The Hard Rock Club is a sponsored bar at the Canadian Tire Centre , with Hard Rock branding and memorabilia. The stadium formerly housed Ottawa's first Hard Rock Café when it opened as The Palladium on January 15, 1996, and for many years when it
2400-519: Was sold for $ 745 million to Vici Properties and Hard Rock International , with Vici acquiring the land and buildings for $ 558 million and Hard Rock buying the operating business for $ 187 million. Hard Rock would lease the casino from Vici for $ 43 million per year, and would rebrand it as Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati. Canada had numerous restaurants but many of them closed, notably the one at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto in May 2017, which had been
2450-407: Was sold to Center Parcs UK , and all its Butlins , Warner and Haven Holidays facilities were all sold to Bourne Leisure . The company then sold off its nightclub division, Rank Entertainment, as well as its interest in Universal Orlando Resort , and disposed of the Rank film library to Carlton Communications , to which it had recently also sold the Rank Screen Advertising Film Division, which
2500-413: Was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and was headquartered in Orlando, Florida , until April 2018, when the corporate offices were relocated to Davie, Florida . As of July 2018, Hard Rock International has venues in 74 countries, including 172 bar or cafe-restaurants, 37 hotels, and four casinos. The first Hard Rock Cafe opened on June 14, 1971, at 150 Old Park Lane, Hyde Park , London, under
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