Despite the great success of Gary Hotel in Indiana, it won’t join the group of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana properties. 

The expansion plans are on hold since Hard Rock International didn’t approve the hotel’s construction. 

Delayed due to the construction costs: 

On Thursday, Jon Lucas, chief operating officer at Hard Rock International, spoke with Indiana Gaming Commission. He said that even though the hotel has worked great in the last 19 months, it isn’t the right time to start working on the construction of another hotel. 

He stated: “Unfortunately, with the economic uncertainty right now, we’ve paused that.” 

Lucas reiterated that the state gaming authority Hard Rock is still interested in collaboration with Gary hotel – but they plan to bring the hotel to Steel City. They are already buying land near the place where the hotel will be built in order to replace parking spaces that will be replaced by the hotel in the future. 

The reason for the postponement of the construction, as Lucas states, lies in the fact that capital markets are pretty tight, and the construction itself is very expensive, which makes construction impossible at the moment. 

This is not the only place whose build and renovations are delayed because of the costs of construction. A similar thing happens to Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino and hotel, which is currently under construction. The location of this property is six miles to the west, near the Indiana-Illinois border in East Hazel Crest. 

Impressive earnings: 

Matt Schuffert, President of Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, said to the gaming commission that the Gary casino, which is worth $300 million, earned an additional $7.2 million in capital improvements. This amount was made since the opening, which took place on May 14, 2021. 

Fresh Harvest buffet is also included in this. This 1,200-square feet property contains game space that possesses 65 slot machines. This makes the Hard Rock the casino with the biggest number of slot machines than any other commercial casino, even 1.719 of them, in the Hoosier State. 

Schuffert also commented on the improvements in sound and lighting, as well as the massive video wall. These changes have been made in the Hard Rock Live performance property, which can enter about 2,700 people. In its baccarat gaming area, an additional cashier cage is added.  

According to recently announced data, Hard Rock has been the casino with the highest earnings in Indiana for the last 14 months. This casino took the place of the former leader, Horseshoe Casino, in Hammond, and it also outperformed the Majestic Star Casinos on Lake Michigan. Hard Rock casino replaced this one when its facility was that had been joined to Interstate 80-94 at Burr Street.  

Schuffert further commented: “I’m very proud of this team and proud of being Indiana’s leading casino.”