Virgin's Branson Enters Vegas With Hard Rock Purchase

A headline like ‘Virgin’s in Vegas’ might surprise those who have never heard of the ‘eats shoots and leaves’ Panda joke, but that all-important apostrophe indicates that Richard Branson has joined the moguls of Vegas’ casinos with his purchase of the Hard Rock Casino for “an undisclosed sum”.

The 67-year old Londoner celebrated his company’s most recent acquisition by dancing with some of his Virgin girls at a poolside party on Friday, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal, and stated that he plans to have the hotel and casino complex up-and-running by 2019 and said:

“We know how to design things, to bring some magic back to it.”

At the news conference party, which featured ‘a DJ playing thumping music and swimsuit-clad women dancing on platforms in the pool’, Branson promised:

“We’re not going to make this a boring business talk - but I’m sure somebody can let you know some other time,” when the LVR journalist asked about the buying-price.

Richard “Boz” Bosworth, the hotel’s new CEO, said they planned to spend “hundreds of millions of dollars in transforming this property,” describing the off-strip complex of 1500 rooms as “a little bit smaller, a little bit more boutique” adding:

“We didn’t want some glass tower on the Strip.”

Branson, who is worth $5billion according to Forbes, is not a complete stranger to poker or Vegas, as seen in this old FB post with Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Woods…

…but he may have an even tougher battle to find enough Virgins in Vegas to run his new place!