People line up to test their luck at newly opened Rockford casino

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Guitars don’t typically survive the opening of a Hard Rock location.

The international hotel, resort and casino company makes a tradition out of smashing the stringed instruments to bits to celebrate its grand openings.

The stage was set for six guitars to meet their fate Wednesday as A Hard Rock Opening Act let in the public to play at the city’s casino for the first time. But then Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick delivered the switcheroo, appearing in a prerecorded video to declare “You can’t smash guitars without me.”

The guitars were ushered out of the hands of Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, Fire Chief Michele Panko, Hard Rock COO Jon Lucas, chief investor Dan Fischer, Sheriff Gary Caruana and investor Karen Nielsen to be saved for another day.

That day should come in about two years, when the full Hard Rock Rockford resort opens on the former Clock Tower site at Interstate 90 and East State Street. There, a 100-foot guitar will serve as a landmark for visitors arriving off the interstate.

“We’re going to spend the winter finalizing plans and working on all the behind the scenes stuff,” said Geno Iafrate, president and CEO of Hard Rock Rockford. “Hopefully in the spring we’ll start to see some construction progress on site.”

Related: Want to bet on the big game? Here’s Hard Rock’s plans to add a sports book

For now, the former Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center, 610 N. Bell School Road, will serve as the city’s interim casino. Although Rick Nielsen put a stop to the guitar smashing, his wife, Karen Nielsen, cut the ribbon on the opening act casino.

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People swarmed outside the casino before the 11 a.m. opening with long lines wrapping around the side of the building.

“It just shows you the anticipation that so many Rockfordians have,” McNamara said. “We’ve had legislators and elected officials promise it for decades and now it’s here.”

Six sites, including Rockford, were given the OK to establish casinos under a June 2019 gaming expansion bill signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker. Rockford’s is the first to open.

Alicia Horton was among those who lined up early and was among the first dozen or so people to enter.

“I’ve been waiting for the casino to open up here in Rockford for quite some time … I wanted to be one of the first in line,” she said just as the doors were opened. “Good luck to me.”

The casino boasts more than 37,000 square feet of gaming space filled with 625 of the newest slots and Interblock Electronic table games. The casino is also home to two restaurants: Midway Bar and Rock River Bar & Grill. It also has a pop-up retail shop featuring Hard Rock merchandise.

“Remember, this is An Opening Act, this isn’t the Hard Rock Casino that’s going to be right down the road in a couple of years,” Iafrate said. “However, we still sprinkled in a little Hard Rock memorabilia that you’re going to have to come and see for yourself.”

The full casino will have more memorabilia, including a collection of Nielsen’s guitars.

Hard Rock kicked off its first day by presenting two $25,000 checks to local organizations. The nonprofit Rockford Promise, which provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified Rockford Public Schools graduates, and the International Women’s Baseball Center, which is building a museum and activities center around Beyer Park where the Rockford Peaches once played.

“We wanted a true partner. One that’s diving into the community with a foundation that’s consistently giving back to our community and the wonderful organizations that do good work,” McNamara said. “This really came out to be a great win-win for everyone.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.