Hard Rock ramps up hiring with hundreds of jobs to fill as it prepares to open Rockford casino
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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- Interested in working for Hard Rock? Info on how to apply at the end of this story.
ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino is ramping up its efforts to add hundreds of employees to its team in time to open its 180,000-square-foot casino and entertainment venue near Labor Day weekend.
The company extended offers to more than 120 prospective employees Monday during Day 1 of an RSVP-only mass hiring event at the Northern Illinois University Conference Center, which is about a mile east from where the casino is being built. It hopes to extend at least that many offers during the second day.
“This is probably the first big main step forward toward our grand opening, making sure we have the staff for it,” said Miguel Pascual, director of human resources for Hard Rock Casino Rockford. “In a few weeks, we’ll kick off another event, and then slowly — little by little — we’ll start finalizing that roster of brand new team members.”
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Hard Rock will be adding the full-time equivalent of more than 400 jobs to support the casino at 7801 E. State St., near the Interstate 90 and East State Street interchange. That will bring total employment to more than 800 when combined with current staff, which is operating the interim facility on Bell School Road and will move over to full casino when it opens.
“We are following up with additional events later this month,” Pascual said. “We also want to evaluate where our opportunities are after these two days here.”
Many of the jobs available are in culinary services because of the multitude of restaurant options inside the casino. The casino will have a Hard Rock Cafe, an upscale Council Oak steakhouse and a food hall with YouYu Noodle Bar, Brick’d Oven Pizza, Constant Grind bistro and coffee shop, and a taco concept that has yet to be named.
The need for trained restaurant staff is one of the reasons Hard Rock is considering turning its interim casino into culinary school after its permanent casino opens.
“That would be a great way to use that existing space. That would help not only us but also those in the Rockford area who are looking for that same talent,” Pascual said. “If we can find a way to reinvest in building talent up and then sharing that with the local community, I think that would be a huge hit.”
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The casino also has a large demand for banquet staff for its Hard Rock Live concert venue and event space, which has its first wedding booked for late September.
Pascual said some of the benefits of working for Hard Rock are that it sets you up to grow with the company at locations all around the country.
He said many of the staff members receiving offers now will start in early August so they’re trained and ready for opening day.
“As long as you bring the personality, we’ll teach you the rest,” he said.
Want to work for Hard Rock
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 visit the Hard Rock human resources office at 7290 Argus Drive to apply.
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
