The Rockford Casino, Illinois, brought in $5m in gross gaming revenue last month, which is the third time it has surpassed the $5m mark. It is the casino’s third-highest monthly revenue according to the Illinois Gaming Board, rising 48% from the $3.4m generated in January 2022.
All Illinois casinos are required by law to report tax allocation, admissions and gross receipts monthly. Guest admissions were reported at 44,643 people compared to 23,385 in the same month last year.
Hard Rock Casino President Geno Iafrate said there were several factors attributable to 2023’s strong January performance. Iafrate pointed to warmer weather, lower Covid-19 numbers and the strength of the bond between the casino and its community.
The Hard Rock President wanted to emphasize the efforts made by the entire casino staff. He commented: “We want to give a lot of credit to our nearly 300 team members that have been with us now since we opened.”
Rockford Casino managed to hit these impressive numbers despite playing tables and sportsbooks yet to be available on the premises. Iafrate remarked: We're in a highly regulated industry. We work very closely with the IDB and we just have to work through the steps necessary.”
Hard Rock continues to operate its temporary casino while the permanent location is under construction. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in September 2022 with a grand opening of the permanent casino due to open in November 2023.
In a similar move for Hard Rock in Virginia last December, it opened a temporary casino – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. This casino is set to open permanently in 2024 and is expected to create 1,200 jobs.
