Hard rock casino rockford

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - More than five years after the announcement of a casino popping up in the Forest City, the Hard Rock Casino Rockford is slowly but surely making its way to the finish line.

For 30 years, Rockford residents have clamored for a casino. Now, the Hard Rock Casino Rockford is tuning up for its first gig.

“We’re targeting a late August opening,” said Hard Rock Casino Rockford President Geno Iafrate. “We intend to start putting tickets on sale for our hard rock live concert venue, probably mid-May.”

More than a thousand slot machines, a sportsbook, and dozens of table games will bring in guests, but Iafrate says the 13, square-foot concert venue will keep them coming back.

“This is my ninth opening, so I’ve been here and done this before and this one is going very smoothly. We have a lot of folks that are new to the casino business that have been with us for a few years that are super excited about this.” said Hard Rock Casino Rockford Vice President of Finance Wendy Alsteen. “It’s kind of like growing a plant or a flower, you’ve got to start with the seeds and then it gets bigger and bigger and it’s starting to bloom.”

The casino will feature all genres of musical entertainment and display a classic rock theme decor, with a taste of the Forest City.

“It’s very common for the Hard Rock to highlight the local or regional entertainment from wherever we open a facility, so if you go to our northern Indiana property, you see a lot of Michael Jackson, a lot of Jackson 5 memorabilia,” Iafrate said. “Certainly, you’re going to see Cheap Trick, you’re going to see Rick Nielsen.”

Iafrate says as soon as the casino is finished and open for business, the next step is figuring out how long it will take to build a Hard Rock Hotel, which will be attached to the casino.

Construction on the ,square-foot casino has created about 1, jobs and leaders are currently looking for full-time and part-time employees once the casino opens to the public.

Copyright WIFR. All rights reserved.