Vegas Hard Rock receives forclosure notice

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Less than a year after completing a $750 million renovation and expansion, a group of lenders has filed a notice of foreclosure against the struggling Hard Rock Hotel.

The notice means the lending group, NRFC HRH Holdings LLC, has the option to acquire the hotel-casino or sell its interest in the property to the highest bidder in a public auction scheduled for Monday.

NFRC HRH Holdings controls a piece of the $1.36 billion loan used to acquire and renovate the Hard Rock at 4455 Paradise Road. A joint venture including Morgans Hotel Group and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners bought the Hard Rock in 2007.

Messages left with a Hard Rock spokeswoman were not returned. The Hard Rock Hotel was originally constructed in 1995.

The auction is scheduled for 1 p.m. PST on Monday in New York.

Global Gaming & Hospitality LLC with offices in New York and Las Vegas is advising the lenders in the foreclosing proceedings. The company declined to comment on the foreclosure auction.

The foreclosure proceedings were made public Tuesday, less than a week after the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved a $650,000 settlement between the Hard Rock and state regulators. The hotel and casino was the focus of a complaint by the Nevada Gaming Control Board alleging hotel employees sold drugs and let patrons use private restrooms for sex and drugs.