The Hangover Brings Buzz to Ceasars Palace

Written by Haylie | Thursday, July 9th, 2009

The new movie The Hangover has brought a lot of appreciated business to Ceasars Palace. The Hangover, which was released in the midst of the WSOP, is about four single guys living the life who venture to Vegas and become four seriously drunk bachelors all in a suite at Ceasars Palace. The Hangover is not only a hit in the box office this summer, but has also brought a great deal of interest to the hotel and casino. Ceasars is more than happy about all the publicity–after all, what better place for a bachelor party?

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but in the movie, the bachelor party takes a turn for the worst, as one might expect. You’ll have to see the movie for anymore of the story…

Since opening on June 5, The Hangover has grossed over $150 million, and Ceasears is taking full advantage. The front desk phone started ringing immediately on the night that the movie premiered. Everyone wanted to book the room that the movie was filmed in. Bonnie Gillmour, VP of Marketing at Ceasars, immediately started training staff on how to handle these calls, as it was a bit overwhelming at first.

“We had to train our call center on how to handle the incoming calls and figure out how we were going to play it,” Gilmour said. “We were a little surprised on how quickly the response came in.”

To the disappointment of many, though, the Villa suite from the movie doesn’t actually exist. The Villa was created from the inspiration of several different suites put together. Most of the ideas came from the Emperor’s suite, which is actually a two-bedroom, two-story suite, though the suite in the movie was just one story. The only similar features of the movie’s Villa suite and the actual Emperor’s suite is that both are covered in flat screens and the view. The view from the Emperor’s suite was used in the film.

There are also other original facets of the film, including the lobby, the roof, the pool, the front drive, and the elevators. Todd Philips, director of The Hangover, wanted to capture the true likeness of the hotel’s beauty. “Let’s really shoot in the lobby of Caesars Palace, let’s really walk down the hallway or go down the elevators that are really at Caesars,” he said. “That adds something to the audience’s experience of seeing the movie.”

“When we walked into the lobby, Todd just said ‘This is perfect for us,’” producer Dan Goldberg said. “We approached Caesars and they totally got it. Once they said yes, they put the entire Caesars staff on our side. Whatever we wanted, we could have.”

Debbie Munch, VP of public relations at Harrah’s said, “They were a great group in every way.” Munch has been working with film crews at Caesars since Rain Man and on more recent films and TV shows as Oceans 11, Iron Man, The Sopranos and Entourage.

“Bringing a production of that magnitude to a resort that never closes is very challenging,” Munch added. “We worked together to get the scenes they needed while still accommodating guests, and they were very gracious of that.”

From October through September, the crew filmed The Hangover on the strip. Ceasars prepared for the rise in business way before the release, to monopolize on the venture. Ceasars wanted to make the movie’s party vibe as real as possible. “If people were going to be talking about it, we wanted to make sure they had a place to do it,” Gilmour said. “People did what we thought they were going to do, which was come searching for Caesars Palace after seeing the movie.”

Ceasars is offering a Hangover package, and The Hangover trailer is running constantly on Ceasars outdoor sign. In your room you can watch an exclusive version of the movie with special cast interviews and commentary. For the true hangover experience, be prepared to fork out $2,000 to $4,200, but believe that it will be an unforgettable memory.