Hard Rock Rockford to close its Opening Act casino on Aug. 12

August 2, 2024|By Kevin Haas|In 815 News, Rockford, Trending, Business
Hard Rock Casino Rockford is hiring 250 people for its temporary casino, dubbed A Hard Rock Opening Act. The casino, located in the former Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center, is slated to open later this fall. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino Rockford said on Friday that it will close its temporary facility at 610 N. Bell School Road on Aug. 12 in preparation for its move to the permanent site down the road.

A Hard Rock Opening Act will close at 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12 as preparations are finalized for the Aug. 29 grand opening of Hard Rock Casino Rockford, 7801 E. State St.

“The Opening Act has welcomed over 1.5 million guests from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 30 countries worldwide since opening its doors in November of 2021,” Geno Iafrate, president of Hard Rock Casino Rockford, said in a news release. “The time has come for the Opening Act to become the headliner just down the street.

“Our new home is world-class with nearly 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including poker, a sports book, multiple food and beverage offerings, shopping, and Hard Rock Live, where the highest level of entertainment will make waves across the Midwest.”

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Hard Rock said it will hold closing festivities including:

  • The last jackpot won will be doubled, up to $10,000, and includes two free Brad Paisley tickets for the grand opening Labor Day weekend concert at the new casino.
  • Midnight Madness Hot Seat Giveaways all night long.
  • The last patron will close and lock the front doors on the way out.

What’s next, what happens to the site?

Hard Rock passed a key milestone this week on its path to opening the nearly 180,000-square-foot casino and live entertainment venue at Interstate 90 and East State Street.

The casino got its temporary occupancy permit so it can begin training staff on site and moving equipment in, including shuffling some of the slots and table games from the temporary casino to the main act site.

Meanwhile, road construction to widen East State Street near the future casino is also nearly complete.

Traffic control is expected to be removed and all lanes open to traffic by the end of this week with the exception of the thru lane from the I-90 exit ramp to the Hard Rock entrance, which will remain closed until the Hard Rock parking lot paving is complete, according to the city.

The temporary site opened on Nov. 10, 2021.

The plan for that site so far is to turn it into a hospitality and culinary school. But a final decision hasn’t been made.

“Once we get the permanent opened and as the second half of the year progresses, we’ll have much better clarity into what happens at the temporary,” Iafrate told the Rock River Current earlier this week. “I think we can come to a final conclusion on that by the end of the year.”

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