Hard Rock Casino Rockford moves up hotel plans
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ROCKFORD—The Hard Rock Casino Rockford is advancing its hotel plans to phase 1 of production along with the plans for a permanent casino.
The hotel was originally planned in phase 3 of the construction plan, but Geno Iafrate, Hard Rock Casino Rockford President, moved production time to line up closer with the casino plan.
This means that the hotel will be operational closer to when the casino is up and running.
Back on Jan. 27 the Illinois Gaming Board voted 4-0 to give Hard Rock Casino Rockford a license to construct a casino.
This means that two years, after the temporary casino opened, is the deadline for construction and operation of the Hard Rock Casino, according to Iafrate.
The temporary casino opened back in November of 2021 and will continue to operate until the casino aspect is ready in the resort.
The temporary casino, subtitled A Hard Rock Opening Act, has been operating 24/7.
The casino is currently home to Midway Bar and Rock River Bar and Grill.
A Hard Rock Opening Act offers slot machines and electronic gaming machines. The casino advertises over 625 different slot machine games are on location.
The temporary casino and the projected Hard Rock Casino Rockford is about one mile away from each other. The Hard Rock Casino will be located where the old Clock Tower & Resort used to stand on East State Street.
“Once the resort is ready, we will transfer the license from the temporary casino to the resort location,” Iafrate said.
Iafrate and his team have not yet decided what the temporary space will be used for once the license is transferred to the resort.
The next step is for Hard Rock Casino Rockford to submit the final plan for construction on the casino to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Hard Rock Casino Rockford can’t start construction on or begin gambling without first submitting the required disclosures and receiving the request and receiving the appropriate Illinois Gaming Board approval, Iafrate noted.
Meanwhile, the Ho-Chunk Casino and Resort in Beloit is still on hold as the tribe and the city are waiting for a final step before starting construction.
Ho-Chunk is waiting for approximately 75 acres of land to be transferred to trust status by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The Ho-Chunk Casino & Resort was given approval back on March 24, 2021 by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The Rockford casino development not only will have a hotel, casino, and several restaurants, but a Hard Rock Live venue also will be located within the resort.
The Hard Rock Live venue will have an estimated 1,800 to 2,000 seats for crowds.
Final designs for both the hotel, restaurants, casino, and venue are all up in the air and awaiting final decision by Hard Rock Casino Rockford’s leadership.
“There is still a lot of work and decisions to be made when it comes to the resort and we are working diligently to uphold our license and agreement with the Illinois Gambling Association,” Iafrate noted.
