Credit that to London native Robert Earl, the original Planet Hollywood founder and an owner of its new casino. He helped re-brand a business once known for themed restaurants and celebrity Hollywood partners like Sylvester Stallone and Demi Moore. The Planet Hollywood casino debuted last November on the grounds of the old Aladdin.

Just four months old, it joins the sports financial heavyweight ranks of MGM and Mandalay Bay by bankrolling a major fight.

Earl knew this event was too big for Planet Hollywood’s 7,000-seat theater and he didn’t have the major in-house arena MGM and Mandalay Bay enjoy. So he baptized his property’s gaming-boxing marriage at Thomas and Mack, scaled for about 17,000 fans. His property bankrolled the event and plays the risk-reward game here.

“We had nearly 12,000 seats already gone by the middle of March, still a month before the fight,” he says. “The objective for me is to break even and generate a substantial amount of visibility for Planet Hollywood at the same time. By the end of 2008, I want everyone to know all about us.”

Earl indicates his casino will make additional forays into major boxing. Few will be easier to call successful than this one. He’ll probably make money. At the very least, the fight becomes an extended advertisement.

 England did not need a press release. Its fans provide unprecedented support to its athletes. Calzaghe should prove to be similar. Earl met the fighter through a link to Calzaghe’s promoter Frank Warren.

“Frank and I knew each other from the London scene,” says Earl, who also owns London’s Everton soccer team. “During a party for the last Rocky movie, I was sitting with Sylvester Stallone and Calzaghe was next to him. That’s where we really came in contact with each other. Joe Calzaghe is an excellent fighter, but also one who wants to receive notoriety on the grand stage of the Las Vegas Strip.”

Now it happens. Calzaghe viewed the Las Vegas-U.K. dynamic last December. He stayed at Planet Hollywood, found a great deal of supporters and then watched Hatton enjoy a Pied Piper role by packing the MGM with British fans. While Mayweather triumphed in the ring, Las Vegas gaining a financial injection during a slow season.

The Brits, of course, can’t lose. Their currency literally “pounds” the dollar at about a 2-1 clip. Las Vegas subsequently becomes both a cheap and upscale vacation for British boxing fans.

Earl wasted no time exploiting the dynamic. He indicates that twice as many British boxing fans have made plans to come here over previous fights. Planet Hollywood ensures additional fight-week hoopla with a lineup of luminaries. Al Pacino’s new movie 88 minutes unfurls its premiere in the middle of fight week. The Miss USA pageant is scheduled. So are the lavish parties.

“We will be more frenetic, more electric, we will be a home for 24-hour excitement,” Earl indicates. “We will have the parties, the media headquarters and the press conference and pre-fight festivities all coming from the property. We will also have as many celebrities, if not more, than what you see at a heavyweight title fight.”

After the hype subsides, the fight becomes a matter of who gambles first. Calzaghe, a lefty, stands 44-0 with 32 knockouts, but ventures outside the U.K. for the first time. Yes, he’s on friendly ground, but this still represents the bright lights and big stage of another country.

Hopkins is 48-4-1 with 32 knockouts, once held a middleweight record for 20 consecutive defenses and is a tremendous old-school fighter. The Philadelphia boxer, who has also become a promoter for Oscar De La Hoya, recently carved up some of boxing’s biggest names.

Counter-punching, throwing on angles and tying up opponents, he toyed and destroyed the talented Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright in consecutive fights. Hopkins is 43 and has the style to improve with age. He essentially mugs, dismantles and discourages opponents, slowly.

By Casino Connection Staff