Coquitlam's casino is soon to get a shipment of autographed guitars and framed platinum records.
Boulevard Casino will be rechristened Hard Rock Casino Vancouver, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation announced Wednesday.
Great Canadian will remain the owner, but this winter's re-branding will be licensed by a subsidiary of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which is an affiliate of Brookfield Property Partners, a spinoff of the Canadian-owned commercial real estate company Brookfield Asset Management. The Coquitlam property will be Las Vegas-flagshipped Hard Rock's first Canadian casino.
The expanded complex will include 950 slot machines over the 80,000 square foot casino floor.
Great Canadian vice-president Howard Blank said it has yet to be determined whether the Red Robinson Show Theatre will retain Robinson's name, but confirmed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Vancouver disc jockey will remain an ambassador for the property and his memorabilia will be prominently displayed.
"Hard Rock Casino is one of the most globally recognized entertainment brands in the world," said Jody Lake, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas chief operating officer.
"The expansion of the Hard Rock Casino into the Vancouver area is an important milestone for us and we warmly welcome the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver team into our family. We look forward to working closely with the Great Canadian Gaming team as they transition their property to a Hard Rock Casino."
In fiscal 2012, City of Coquitlam collected $7.386 million in host government royalties from Boulevard profits, down from $7.5 million a year earlier. The property lost business because of Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project construction.
Great Canadian received civic approval to build a hotel in late 2011, but Blank said that phase of the project has been delayed.
