Hard Rock closes opening chapter as it readies for grand opening of Rockford casino

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our free e-newsletter

ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino closed its opening chapter early Monday morning as it enters the final two weeks of preparations for its grand opening down the street.

The doors at the temporary casino at 610 N. Bell School Road closed at 5 a.m. Monday with a ceremonial locking of the facility by the last patron to leave. That honor went to Tom Tendall of Rockford.

“It feels really special,” Tendall said. “This was a very positive atmosphere here. The employees, staff and management have always been really nice. I just feel privileged.”

More Hard Rock: How the giant showpiece guitar at the future casino was made for Rockford

The closure is a key milestone on the path to opening the full casino and entertainment venue later this month. The nearly 180,000-square-foot casino down the street at 7801 E. State St. opens Aug. 29. Tendall said he hopes to be at that, too.

“I think it will be nice to be a part of that, also,” he said. “So the last, and then the first.”

The final $3,000 jackpot won was doubled, and the winner also got two free tickets to Brad Paisley for the grand opening Labor Day weekend concert. That jackpot went to Lourdes Jaime, who said the last-minute win turned what was a losing night around.

“They said, it’s the last minute,” she said. “I hurried up and put in my last money. I saw the machine stopping and thought, oh my God this is a good one.

“I thought it was nothing, but it was the last (jackpot). It was something like a dream come true.”

There were still a few dozen cars in the parking lot shortly before the scheduled closing, and the last few patrons filtered out as the sun was rising over the city.

“This place has been special, but we’re excited because we’re going from this cool little joint to the big joint,” said Geno Iafrate, president of Hard Rock Casino Rockford. “I’ve been here all night, and everybody I’ve bumped into tonight — guests and team members — have expressed the same sentiment. They’re sad that this thing’s closing but they can’t wait to get down the street and see what we have to offer.”

More news: ‘Electric’ Rockford Boxing Classic brings hundreds to downtown Rockford

The temporary casino has welcomed more than 1.5 million admissions from its opening Nov. 10, 2021 through the end of July, according to Illinois Gaming Board data. It brought in more than $175.6 million in gambling revenue during that time and generated more than $10.3 million in local gambling tax revenue, state gaming data shows.

What’s next?

The closure of the temporary facility allows Hard Rock to focus its attention on the final preparations for the grand opening, which will happen at roughly 3 p.m. Aug. 29.

That includes moving some of the roughly 600 slots from the temporary casino into the future site, which features 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including a poker room, a sportsbook, six restaurants and a Rock Shop.

“The vast majority of the games are going to be brand new games,” Iafrate said.

The future of the facility at 610 N. Bell School Road, which was previously Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center, may be as a hospitality and culinary school. That has long been what Iafrate describes  as the “leading idea,” and Hard Rock is in discussions with Rock Valley College and its president Howard Spearman to operate the school.

“We continue to work with Rock Valley College, Dr. Spearman has been very patient,” Iafrate said. “We said, let us get through this craziness and when the dust settles this fall we can start working on that project again.”

Later this week, the roughly 63-foot-tall replica of one of Rick Nielsen’s guitars will arrive on four separate semi-trucks before it’s installed outside of the new casino. The giant showpiece was made by Gable, a sign and visual communications company in Baltimore, as a one-of-a-kind design for Rockford.

It’s not the only guitar that Iafrate is excited for patrons to see.

Inside the casino there is also a massive guitar chandelier, which is also an interpretation of one of Nielsen’s guitars. It runs from the main entryway to the Hard Rock Center Bar and stretches about 90-feet long.

“I think people are going to be blown away by that guitar,” Iafrate said.

https://infogram.com/hard-rock-casino-numbers-1hdw2jp5gdzjj2l?live

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