Rock Band is the new karaoke: Harrah's casino's to get fully-equiped game stages

12:40 PM on 02.18.2009   |   Nick Chester

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Harrah's Entertainment has announced today that, in conjunction with MTV Games, it will be installing fully-equipped Rock Band "entertainment stages" into their properties this March. Harrah's owns a number of entertainment properties (read: casinos) worldwide, including Bally's in Atlantic City and Harrah's in Las Vegas.

The wild pairing of gambling, drinks, and Rock Band will kick off with a "Total Rock, Total Rewards" competition that runs throughout March and April. The Rock Band competition will take place across seventeen casinos throughout the United States, giving participants the chance to win crap like Rock Band apparel, cash, and the opportunity to open up for the B-52's at the House of Blues in Atlantic City this May. Because that's exactly what you want to see before Fred Schneider hops around on stage to the beat of "Dance This Mess Around" -- people playing plastic instruments.

Dale North and I had a chance to play some Rock Band at Harrah's in Las Vegas when we were at CES a few months back. While it wasn't one of these fancy new Rock Band stages they're talking about (Harmonix's Jonh Drake and Alex Navarro just used electrical tape to hold down the drum kit), it was hosted by a dude dressed like Rod Stewart. Hell yeah. 

Press release and more info on the competition after the jump.

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- World class gaming and music entertainment giants Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), have joined forces to find the best Rock Band(R) gamers in America with the first-ever Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition. The competition kicks off in March when Harrah's Entertainment properties become the first in the world to have official and permanent, fully-equipped Rock Band entertainment stages.

Throughout March and April, seventeen Total Rewards casinos* will host local, weekly Rock Band Competitions, allowing fans of the popular game to win an Xbox 360 and Rock Band bundle as well as other Total Rewards items and Rock Band apparel and accessories. Four regional competitions will then offer customers the chance to win more than $50,000 in prizes.

The ultimate winning band will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open for the legendary B-52's at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on May 9th and will win $10,000 in prize money, making this the richest Rock Band competition in history. In addition, visitors at participating Total Rewards casinos across the country will be able to pick up their choice of guitar, bass, drums or vocals and rock out throughout the year during special Rock Band Nights.

"We're thrilled to be working with such an energetic and iconic company like MTV Games to further help bring Rock Band to the masses through our Total Rewards venues," said David Norton, chief marketing officer for Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. "We look forward to giving thousands of Rock Band fans a new reason to jam and take part in an event unlike anything they've ever experienced before."

"Harrah's is known for extraordinary entertainment and we are pumped to see the first of our fully equipped Rock Band stages hit Total Rewards casinos across the country," said Christina Glorioso, vice president of sales and marketing partnerships for MTV Games. "The full scope of the Rock Band and Harrah's program represents a great relationship between our two brands and will create significant value for our shared consumers."

The local Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition will be open at participating properties to pre-registered amateur acts, 21 years and older, on a first come first serve basis. The events will be hosted and promoted by local radio stations. The Rock Band game scoring system will be used to score the participating rock bands on skill and performance, and MTV Games will provide the pre-determined song list for all the competitions.

The winning band from each location will then have a chance to go head-to-head at celebrity-judged competitions in Las Vegas (April 16), Chicago Area (April 24), New Orleans (April 30), and Atlantic City (May 7).

The four winning bands, one from each regional competition, will then have a chance to compete for the championship title in Atlantic City on May 8th. The regional events and Atlantic City events will be produced by MTV Networks Special Events, and hosted and judged by MTV, Harrah's, and local celebrities. Each band will compete on multiple Rock Band songs.

For more information and official rules on the competition, please visit http://www.harrahs.com/rockband.

The seventeen participating Total Rewards casinos* include:

    Eastern Region
    Bally's Atlantic City
    Harrah's Atlantic City
    Showboat Atlantic City
    Harrah's Chester (Philadelphia)

    Southern Region
    Harrah's New Orleans
    Horseshoe Bossier City (Shreveport)
    Harrah's Tunica (Memphis)
    Harrah's Metropolis (Nashville)
    Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Louisville)

    Central Region
    Harrah's Joliet (Chicago)
    Harrah's St. Louis
    Harrah's North Kansas City
    Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago)
    Harrah's Council Bluffs (Omaha)
    Caesars Windsor (Windsor, Ontario,
                     Canada/Detroit, MI)

    Western Region
    Harrah's Rincon (San Diego)
    Harrah's Las Vegas

    (* Subject to regulatory approval)