By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A Hard Rock Opening Act raked in $4.3 million in revenue in December, according to the latest report from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Last month was the Rockford Casino’s first full month in operation. It operated 31 days in December and recorded 39,369 visits compared to 22 days and 41,637 in November. The casino took in $4.1 million from gamblers in November.
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The city’s share of the casino revenue is nearly $255,500 for December, meaning about $505,000 in casino revenue has gone to the city’s coffers so far. Rockford has pledged $1.5 million annually in casino revenue to Rockford Promise, which provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified Rockford Public Schools graduates.
Any revenue over that amount has not been earmarked for a specific purpose yet.
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The state’s share of Hard Rock’s December revenue is nearly $511,000.
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines takes in the most revenue of any of the state’s 11 casinos with $42.9 million. Combined the casinos took in $109.8 million in December and earned $29.9 million for the state of Illinois.
Quick comparison | Rockford Casino
Category | November | December
Admissions: 41,637 | 39,369
Total receipts: $4,145,967 | $4,321,137
State share: $497,870 | $510,851
Rockford share: $248,935 | $255,425
Source: Illinois Gaming Board
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.