Hard Rock prepares to hire 400 more employees for future Rockford casino
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino is gearing up to hire 400 more employees in time to open its new casino in late August.
The casino already employs about 350 people at its A Hard Rock Opening Act location at 610 N. Bell School Road, and it plans to have a total 750 employees at the future site at East State Street and Interstate 90.
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Hard Rock held a networking event Tuesday night at Illinois Bank & Trust Pavilion at Aldeen Golf Course as it prepares for workforce readiness workshops in early 2024 and hiring events in summer.
“It’s a heavy lift. It’s never too early to start reaching out to the community and the community organizations that we think will be invaluable in helping us fill those positions with the right folks,” said Geno Iafrate, president of the Hard Rock Casino Rockford. “These type of community connection events give us that opportunity to start those conversations early so that hopefully as we role into the summer we have more people than the 400, and we’re not scrambling to try to fill positions at the last minute.”
The casino has a multitude of management positions in food and beverage service, casino operations, transportation, retail, warehouse and other parts of its operation. Supervisor salaries start at $50,000 and manager’s can earn more than $70,000 annually.
There are also a variety of jobs in casino operations ranging from card dealers to cashiers, security officers, drivers, audio/video technicians, sportsbooks hosts and other roles. Those jobs start at $18 an hour for non-tipped employees and $10-$16 for those who can earn tips.
“The thing about the Hard Rock is it’s not just about filling the position, it’s about putting rock stars in the position,” Iafrate said.
Other jobs include executive chef, outlet and banquet chef, butcher, cooks, bartenders, servers, hosts and hostesses, and other food service roles.
“We want world class hospitality folks,” Iafrate said. “That doesn’t mean you have to have 25 years of hospitality experience. You have to have the right heart. You have to have a servant’s heart to work in the entertainment and in the hospitality space. We’ll teach you everything else.”
The casino is hiring 400 full-time equivalent employees, which means total positions will fluctuate depending on how many of the workers are part-time.
Management positions will be posted in March and all supervisor positions will be posted by April. All job opportunities will be posted by May, and there will be hiring events in June and July, casino officials said Tuesday.
Some of the supervisor roles will be filled by people working at the temporary casino, but the casino is making additional hires as well.
“We’re building a talent pool now so when the time comes we know who’s in line, who’s interested and who’s a good fit,” said Miguel Pascual, director of human resources for Hard Rock Rockford. “If you want to get in, get in now or start knocking on the door so that when the time comes you’re not standing in line waiting to get in.”
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The future casino
The future Hard Rock Casino Rockford will have 65,000 square feet of casino space covered with 1,300 slot machines, 44 live table games including six poker tables and a sports book. There will also be a separate 1,600-seat Hard Rock Live entertainment venue that doubles as a banquet and event space.
“We’ll be able to do seated banquets between 600 and 800 people in that live venue,” Iafrate said. “It’s primarily designed as a music venue, but it’s a multiuse facility. All the stadium seating is motorized and retracts into the wall.”
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The casino will also have a Hard Rock Cafe, an upscale Council Oak restaurant and the retail Rock Shop and Unity Store. There will also be a food hall with YouYu Noodle Bar, Constant Grind bistro and coffee shop, and a taco concept and pizza concept that have yet to be named.
“I don’t have a name for them yet because they’re being developed specifically for Rockford and it will be the first time they’re rolled out,” Iafrate said.
Interested in working for Hard Rock?
Submit your resume for future positions HERE or sign up for workforce readiness workshops HERE.
You can also explore jobs at gotoworkhappy.com or contact the Hard Rock recruiting team at careers@hrcrockford.com for employment inquiries.
You can also stop by the Hard Rock human resources office at 7290 Argus Drive to apply.
What’s next
Hard Rock has future community engagement events and workforce readiness workshops starting in January.
The next readiness workshop is 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 24, followed by 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 19 and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 22. You can sign up for any of those HERE.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
