The Hard Rock Casino in Rockford, Illinois is ready to offer services. Not long ago, it was announced that a temporary space was in the works while the permanent location is being constructed. Today, the temporary space is known as Rockford Casino: A Hard Rock Opening Act will start serving customers.

The venue opens at 11 a.m. and will feature an opening ceremony. Visitors have access to a gaming floor with just over 600 slot games and electronic table games. The casino will offer services 24/7. Along with the casino, the property will be home to a pop-up retail shop and two restaurants.

The Opening Act

The new Hard Rock is calling this phase the opening act. COO of Hard Rock International, Jon Lucas, commented that every great musical begins with an opening act, and this is no different. Lucas thanked the support of the community leaders and members as Hard Rock International expands its footprint into Rockford.

Lucas stated further: “We could not be prouder of this project and look forward to continuing to integrate ourselves into this incredible community for years to come.”

The new casino also intends to offer patrons a rewards program titled Unity. Visitors to the Hard Rock website can go ahead and sign up for the loyalty program. Players are rewarded for having fun, gaining rewards for slot play, and other actions. The pre-registration form can be found at the online casino site.

Moving Forward

The temporary space was approved for construction back in June, with 815 Entertainment LLC getting straight to work. The approval was provided quickly after the list of investors was approved by the Board along with the permanent location for the casino.

The temporary space is located at Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center. The permanent spot will offer a much larger gaming floor, at 65,000 square feet. The new casino will cost $310 million to create. It will offer much more gaming options including 50 table games and 1,500 slot machines.

Officials of the Illinois casino are hopeful that the permanent space will be ready to go as quickly as possible. By opening the temporary space, the Hard Rock is able to offer services now, rather than wait a few years until the permanent space is created.

As far as the temporary location is concerned, there are local businesses that are worried about potential parking issues. Because of the location of the property, there are hotels and other businesses that might be affected if a large crowd visits the venue.

There are concerns, but local business owners are ready to work with the casino to ensure that all the nearby businesses are able to benefit from the temporary casino opening.