A Star-studded Super Bowl ad featured a building designed by a famous NDSU Alumni 

Famous North Dakota State Alumnus, John Klai, helps run an architecture firm far from the building which bears his name in Fargo, but you might have caught a glimpse of his work during a commercial break on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Hard Rock Café Hotel and Casino played center stage in a star-studded ad that featured the likes of DJ Khalid, Jenifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez. 

Klai said he did not meet any celebrities, personally, but that he did attend the building’s opening which was attended by celebrities. 

Members of the Klai Juba Wald, the Klai’s architecture firm, only found out about the 60-second spot a week before the Super Bowl ad aired, according to Klai. “That was a great surprise,” Klai said.

The firm has designed many extravagant buildings in Las Vegas including hotels, spas and residential buildings. 

This particular casino hotel took six years to build and cost 1.5 billion dollars. Klai said he is proud of the work that his firm did and stressed the fact that it was a group effort.

Klai graduated from NDSU in 1978 and went on to work in Las Vegas for Marnell Corrao Associates before helping start Klai Juba Wald in 1995.

The company had a strong standing right off the bat because of their good reputation. They ended up taking on two large projects with MGM. 

“We reached out to North Dakota State and people we knew there, to say how can we assemble a group,” Klai said.

The company has a history of hiring NDSU students according to Klai. They have recently hired NDSU graduates and will be taking part in the upcoming career fair.

“We are always looking for new talent, and we like what we find at North Dakota State,” Klai said.