Always a Las Vegas hot spot for lavish parties of the rock and roll life style the Hard Rock Hotel has spent $770 million on its expansion to add hotel rooms and suites, a concert hall, restaurants and more. The property is hoping this week will offer some clues about whether the resort’s new focus on Asian gaming will pay off. Hard Rock is using the two-week Chinese New Year holiday that began Sunday to highlight its new campaign aimed at attracting Asian customers, a demographic that typically sticks to the casinos on the Strip. The Hard Rock’s new campaign will target Asian players living in Las Vegas, as well as those from the elsewhere in the United States and Canada.

The property has planned several Asian-themed events to coincide with the Chinese New Year holiday, ranging from food specials to a concert, to lure Asian players to the property. It has also hired casino hosts with high-end Strip experience and is reaching out to the local Asian community through advertising. The Hard Rock believes it now has the right offerings to attract and keep Asian players coming back. A new international pit in the casino features games preferred by Asian players, such as baccarat, midi-baccarat, mini-baccarat and pai gow. It also added its first true high-limit room when it completed a 40,000-square-foot casino expansion in December.

“We think there’s a tremendous upside in that market,” said Mark Gore, the general manager of the casino. “Something the Hard Rock’s never ever had is a piece of that business that we want to tap into and get our fair share.” However, the off-Strip property is not planning to go head-to-head with the large Strip operators who already have a presence in the Asian market. Wynn Resorts Ltd., Las Vegas Sands Corp. and MGM Mirage all have casinos in Macau.

Also announced this week Skullcandy, a top class designer of audio accessories and other audio-enabled lifestyle products, and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas have signed an exclusive partnership agreement to create the ultimate music and entertainment guest experience. The partnership will grant Skullcandy naming rights to three Hard Rock stages in the Joint, Wasted Space and the Friday Night Live concert series at the pool. More importantly, the Skullcandy deal will pave the way for a new event series at the Hard Rock titled The Next, which will give them heavy presence in the snow and skate-sport communities for what the Hard Rock has called “a premiere summit showcase for sports, music, technology and lifestyle industries.”

To complete the facelift, the property also opened a suite in the new HRH Tower designed by a feng shui consultant and there is an Asian-themed restaurant with a noodle bar near the new high-limit room. The new push to attract Asian players could be a welcome boost for a casino that has performed poorly as a percentage of property revenue since it opened in 1995.