By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — Rockford Casino: A Hard Rock Opening Act brought in more than $54.7 million in gross revenue last year and generated more than $3.2 million in local gambling tax revenue, according to new figures from the Illinois Gaming Board.
The temporary casino at 610 N. Bell School road opened its doors on Nov. 10, 2021, and 2022 marked its first full calendar year in operation. Gaming Board figures show it had nearly 464,000 admissions to the casino last year.
“We are very proud of all the hard work our team has done to make the Opening Act a special place, and we are extremely grateful to all our loyal guests for choosing us as their entertainment home,” said Geno Iafrate, president of Hard Rock Casino Rockford.
More news: A look inside the history and decay of a south Rockford factory on the cusp of redevelopment
Local gambling tax revenue is shared between Rockford, Winnebago County, Loves Park and Machesney Park, with Rockford taking the lion’s share of 70% of the taxes. Winnebago County receives 20% and 5% goes to both Loves Park and Machesney Park, per the terms of a previous agreement.
That means about $2.24 million was generated for Rockford last year, surpassing the amount the city had expected to spend. Rockford has dedicated $1.5 million annually to support Rockford Promise, which provides free college tuition for qualified students to attend Northern Illinois University.
The additional nearly three-quarters of a million dollars will go into the city’s general fund. City Council members haven’t discussed dedicating the excess revenue to any other projects.
“As we get closer to the permanent casino, and much larger streams of revenue coming in, we’ll be looking at what we can do to allocate those funds,” Mayor Tom McNamara said.
Adding dollars to the city’s general fund helps Rockford keep its property tax levy from increasing, and it helps the city build up a reserve of cash for the future. That reserve will become even more important as the city’s pension obligations grow, McNamara said.
More news: Stroll on State attracted more than 70K people to downtown Rockford
The city’s pension obligations are expected to increase from $22 million last year to $26.7 million in 2023. It could rise to $64.2 million by 2040 without action in Springfield.
“We need to continue to stockpile money in that fund so that whoever the mayor is — and whoever she is after me will need to ensure that they have funds available to pay those down without having to just constantly go back to the taxpayers for more money,” he said. “So we’re trying to be fiscally responsible while also investing in our community at the same time.”
Hard Rock broke ground Sept. 28 on its permanent casino resort at Interstate 90 and East State Street. The 180,000-square-foot casino and entertainment venue is on an aggressive construction timeline with a goal of opening in late 2023 or early 2024. However, it has the option to request an extension from the state on its timeline.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.