A New Illinois Casino’s Sign is Up, Naysayers Can No Longer Say ‘It Won’t Happen’

It has been a long time in the making, an actual casino will exist in Rockford. Over the last few years, Rockford and Northern Illinois have been fed crumbs of updates when available.

HARD ROCK CASINO ROCKFORD RECAP

All the bells and whistles inside the permanent location will be worth the wait.

The Hard Rock Casino Rockford will feature 64,000 feet of gaming space, a variety of dining options, and a Hard Rock Live entertainment venue. (Hard Rock Casino Rockford)

TEMPORARY CASINO

As part of the deal with Rockford and the Illinois Gaming Board, Hard Rock International will house a temporary casino inside the (now former) Giovanni's Convention Center.

Located near the intersection of East State Street and Bell School Road, Rockford Casino will offer over 600 slot machines, 2 dining outlets and more!

Construction for that facility is already well underway. In fact, a sign has officially replaced the former "Giovanni's" sign atop the building.

From another angle, it appears as though the name of the temporary casino, which will allow 17-24 months for construction of Rockford's Hard Rock Casino location, will be called "Rockford Casino - The Opening Act."

ANOTHER ANGLE

The sign is a significant piece of the Rockford casino puzzle because it means the forest city will actually have a full-on casino without the city limits.

With the placing of the sign, this means those who continue to claim "it will never happen" no longer have an ounce of validity to their statement.