VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: Arnold, Sly & Bruce Willis Opened Planet Hollywood Casino

Posted on: April 14, 2025, 07:31h. 

Last updated on: April 21, 2025, 01:46h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Earlier this year, olbg.com (Online Betting Guide) ran a story with a familiar false narrative.

“When you think of Planet Hollywood, the trio of Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously spring to mind,” it read. “At the same time, you would not necessarily think of them being involved with casinos. That was until 2007 when the resort that was first known for celebrity memorabilia and movie-themed attractions, then opened a casino as part of a broader rebranding project of the Aladdin Hotel.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis opened neither the Planet Hollywood Casino nor the restaurant chain it took its name from. (Image: Instagram/@officialslystallone)

The author then backpedaled by stating that the celebrity trio’s “direct ownership role eventually shifted” by the time the casino came along.

However, even Arnold, Sly, and Bruce’s “direct ownership role” in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain never amounted to more than a trivial minority stake. They didn’t get to manage it, oversee its finances, or dictate its strategy.

The actors were merely paid to do what they did best. They acted a role — that of the company’s principal investors.

In exchange for appearing at restaurant openings, giving TV interviews, and lending their personal memorabilia for display purposes, they were paid (in cash and company stock through an employee stock ownership plan) amounts that likely exceeded any cash they might have invested. (A 1996 Forbes article on Planet Hollywood’s rise speculated that they never really invested any money at all.)

Having obtained their stock at the height of their “direct ownership role” in the restaurant chain, the trio owned 900K shares, which amounted to a collective 3% of the total.

By the time Planet Hollywood opened its casino, that figure was 0%. Schwarzenegger divested in 2000, the others not likely long after.

Who Really  Opened Planet Hollywood?

Robert Earl, the real owner of Planet Hollywood, pals around with a fake owner in 2007. (Image: Shutterstock)

Planet Hollywood was founded as a restaurant in New York City in 1991 by hospitality entrepreneur Robert Earl and film producer Keith Barish.

Even after it became a popular chain that went public in 1996, Earl retained a controlling interest through his shares and role as CEO. A 1998 Forbes report estimated Earl’s stake at around 30% before the company’s first bankruptcy in 1999, when Barish exited the company.

When Planet Hollywood acquired the Aladdin Hotel & Casino in 2003 to transform it into Planet Hollywood, its ownership structure expanded.

The $635 million purchase was made by OpBiz, a partnership between Planet Hollywood International (led by Earl), Starwood Hotels (15% stake), and Bay Harbour Management.

Earl and Bay Harbour together owned 51% after injecting $100 million in new equity, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2003. Starwood managed hotel operations, but Earl remained the key decision-maker.

Three years after Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino opened in 2007, Caesars Entertainment (then Harrah’s) acquired it through foreclosure after buying out its mortgage, which was then valued at $860 million. Because the debt was distressed, Harrah’s likely paid far less.

Caesars has owned and operated the property ever since, while Earl retains control of the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain and brand outside the casino.

Bonus BS

That same olbg.com story — which was rerun by WSB-TV/Altanta, WFTV/Orlando,  and WSOC-TV/Charlotte — also claimed that Ben Affleck had an “ownership stake” in the first Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (today’s Virgin Hotels Las Vegas) that “was not widely publicized.”

It wasn’t widely publicized because it was never true.

In fact, the claim is patently ridiculous because the Hard Rock was the one Las Vegas casino that banned Affleck for life in May 2014 for card-counting at blackjack.

Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Visit VegasMythsBusted.com to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.