Hard Rock to launch Indiana casino
Hard Rock got the green light in Indiana to relocate Gary’s Majestic Star casino from Lake Michigan to a new site and rebrand the venue.
US.- The Indiana Gaming Commission approved a request from Hard Rock to relocate Gary’s Majestic Star casino. The company will move the venue to a site by the Borman Expressway at Burr Street and rebrand it as a Hard Rock Casino.
The Commission unanimously approved the first move for a dockside property to an inland location.
“This will truly create a destination location within Northwest Indiana, and specifically Gary,” Gaming Commissioner Joseph Svetanoff said.
Details on the project
Hard Rock Casino Gary would be built in two phases. The casino will open in 2021, while the hotel and the parking garage will open after the gambling facility.
The casino, which will become the second-largest in the territory, will have an attached hotel and parking garage. It will also feature a sportsbook, bars and restaurants. It will also include a Hard Rock Cafe and a music venue called Hard Rock Live.
Spectacle Entertainment officials told the Gary Plan Commission that the company expects to open the Indiana casino before 2021. The hotel and parking facility would follow within two to three years, NWI.com reveals.
“We originally envisioned to do that all in one fell swoop. Then along came Illinois and that sort of set us back on our heels a little bit. But we are serious about this project and want to do it in two phases,” said John Keeler, Spectacle vice president and general counsel.
Keeler said that the partnership with Hard Rock happened because of Illinois, in reference to the recent gambling expansion bill approved in the state. “We felt if we were going to be able to compete in Gary and put out a first-class product — really attract people to our facility — we needed to partner with the gold standard, with the Rolls Royce if you will, in the casino gaming industry. And that’s why we’ve partnered with Hard Rock, who will manage and brand this casino.”
