The Hard Rock Biloxi (AP Photo)

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi is holding its grand opening July 7 (7-7-07 for slot machine enthusiasts). The resort opened its doors to customers ahead of schedule this past Saturday after clearing regulatory issues earlier than expected, said Shannon Oberlies, the resort’s vice president of marketing.

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Known for its collection of authentic music memorabilia, the Hard Rock Biloxi has made plans this hurricane season to avoid losing priceless artifacts of rock history, including musician Frank Zappa’s panty quilt made entirely from panties thrown on-stage during his shows.

The resort’s original opening scheduled for nearly two years ago was thwarted by a party crasher — Hurricane Katrina.

The Aug. 29, 2005 storm ravaged the Gulf Coast, destroying the entire casino floor and the memorabilia featured on it, said Joe Billhimer, president and CEO of the Hard Rock Biloxi.

Other memorabilia, like Elvis Presley’s Army uniform, were found days later on the beach among other debris, Billhimer said.

A velvet jacket from John Lennon was returned after being found by local residents several blocks from the casino.

Billhimer said if another hurricane bears down on Biloxi, the casino’s memorabilia will be moved to higher ground like the hotel tower, which sustained less damage from Katrina.

The casino has also been rebuilt to withstand a storm. The previous casino floor stood on barges during Katrina and sustained about $125 million of damage, Billhimer said.

Billhimer said the company modeled the new casino’s structure to be as sturdy as the resort’s office and hotel areas, which survived the Category 5 storm. The casino now rests on concrete pilings.

“Given the same circumstances ... the potential for damage would be about half of what it was,” Billhimer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Though saving memorabilia is important, Billhimer said the first focus is giving the resort’s more than 1,400 employees enough time to evacuate with their families.

“We kind of have to be ready ahead of time,” Billhimer said.

Some of the struggles with rebuilding portions of the resort were lack of workers and gaming regulation changes, said Paul Steelman, of the architecture firm Steelman Partners, which worked on the building design for the Hard Rock.

The firm also worked on the original design for the Beau Rivage casino resort, which follows the same model of not looking like a traditional riverboat casino.

“We are trying to build the people a product that is quite frankly more like Las Vegas than a riverboat,” Steelman said.

The resort was originally slated to open Sept. 1, 2005 with hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver as headliner.

With the “second” grand opening event, Billhimer said it was appropriate to feature Mississippi-natives 3 Doors Down as the venue’s inaugural performer on July 5.

“They performed the very first concert on the coast since Katrina,” Billhimer said. “We felt it important to open with them.”

To mark that post-Katrina show, the rock band will be donating memorabilia from the show, including clothing worn that night to the Hard Rock Biloxi, said lead guitarist Matt Roberts.

“It is really a neat thing,” Roberts said.

Joining 3 Doors Down in the opening week is Kid Rock, who will be performing on July 7. Rock was asked to be a part of the bill by friend and nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber, the husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford.

“He loves to perform whether he is sitting there with two of his friends or in front of 20,000 people. He love to play music,” Gerber said of Rock.

Gerber, along with his brother Scott, formed the Gerber Group, operators of more than 20 bars and restaurants worldwide.

Gerber recently entered into a partnership with the Hard Rock to open lounges in hotels in Biloxi and San Diego.

The Rise Lounge, located on the top of the Biloxi hotel, is about 6,000 square feet indoors with a 1,000 square foot outdoor terrace, Gerber said.

It is designed to be a laid back lounge which morphs into a high energy dance club as the evening progresses, he said.