Rockford moves one step closer to permanent casino
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ROCKFORD (WREX) — The Illinois Gaming Board voted 4-0 to grant a license to 815 Entertainment and Hard Rock for a permanent casino in Rockford.
While the license was approved, construction can't start just yet on the proposed location of the casino at the old clock tower site on E. State St. near the I-90 exit.
“Hard Rock Casino Rockford cannot commence construction on or begin gaming at the proposed facility without first submitting the required disclosures and receiving the request and receiving the appropriate IGB approval,” the IGB said during Thursday morning's meeting.
The license granted for the permanent casino gives a two-year window to complete construction on the permanent site.
Timeline of Events
In June of 2019, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the gaming expansion bill into law, opening the door for six areas in Illinois to open casinos—including Rockford.
In October of 2019, city leaders voted in favor of a plan from Hard Rock International to submit to the Illinois Gaming Board.
The decision to approve or deny the project was supposed to be made by October of 2020, but was pushed back six months due to COVID-19.
In June of 2020, the casino's temporary location got the green light from the IGB to begin construction inside the former Giovanni's Restaurant and Convention Center.
The temporary casino opened on Nov. 10, 2021. In the first two months of being open, the casino brought in $8.4 million in revenue. Of that, $504,361.28 was to be paid in local taxes.
Rockford's temporary casino is the only casino in the state to not have table games.
