Hard Rock may challenge Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, which owns Rivers Casinos, for the single available Chicago casino license.
Hard Rock Chairman and Seminole Gaming CEO, Jim Allen, indicated at the recent Global Gaming Expo that they were reassessing the Windy City.
On the other hand, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts dropped out; those two casino resort giants said that the City of Chicago presented too many hurdles in the form of regulations and taxation.
Following Wynn and MGM rejecting Chicago’s offer, the city reapproached Hard Rock. However, many favor Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming for the Chicago license.
In the hopes of attracting more bidders, such as Hard Rock, the City of Chicago extended the deadline to submit a bid to October 29. Chicago city officials want a company willing to develop a casino resort downtown, with a 500-room hotel.
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Hard Rock Has Invested Millions Around Chicago, But Not in Chicago
In recent years, Florida-based Hard Rock has focused on expanding throughout the Midwest.
This spring, the company opened the Hard Rock Northern Indiana in Gary, at a cost of $300 million. That casino resort is only 30 miles from Chicago.
Earlier in the year, the Illinois Gaming Board granted Hard Rock preliminary approval for a casino resort in Rockford, 90 miles west of Chicago. That project includes a $310 million casino with thousands of slot machines and dozens of table games. Hard Rock is already opening a temporary casino in Rockford featuring more than 600 slot machines.
While both of those casinos are within easy reach of the Windy City, Hard Rock is still considering the downtown Chicago location.
Hard Rock has also applied for a license in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Florida-based company has received wide support in Terra Haute. Hard Rock is competing with three other companies for the Terra Haute license. If it wins the bid, Hard Rock has planned a $200 million casino with 35 table games and 850 slot machines.
Hard Rock Speculates on the Las Vegas Strip
When the Seminole Tribe of Florida purchased Hard Rock in the late 2000s, the sale excluded the off-Strip Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. That casino was eventually sold to the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotel Las Vegas.
While Caesar-owned Planet Hollywood is rumored to be up for sale, Hard Rock is not considering that location. While Hard Rock would love to have a casino resort on the Strip, they want it to be just right.
Hard Rock does operate a casino resort on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. The Lake Tahoe property has 539 rooms, where visitors can get away from the summer heat, or enjoy a ski vacation. Hard Rock Tahoe also features a 25,000-square-foot casino, four restaurants, and a variety of live entertainment. Hard Rock is one of six casinos in the mountain resort town.
Hard Rock in Sacramento, California Expanding
The $65 million expansion of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain will include a new event venue as well as a new gas station. The gas station will offer 16 pumps, including diesel as well as a 4,000 square-foot convenience store and a 24/7 drive-thru smoke shop.
Both the event venue and the gas station will have a generator. The event venue will serve the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe of the Enterprise Rancheria, the tribal nation which owns the casino, as an emergency shelter. The 1,000 member tribe helped to house people in Butte County during the 2017 Oroville dam crisis. The region is also subject to wildfires.
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain provides the Enterprise Rancheria community with not only jobs, but also serves as a gathering place and focal point for the community. The tribe is based in Oroville, California, and the casino is located in nearby Wheatville.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino completes $1.5 Billion expansion
Last year, the company’s flagship casino resort, located in Hollywood, Florida, finalized a $1.5 billion expansion. A 638-room Guitar-shaped Hotel was just one addition to the property, as well as a 168-room hotel named the Oasis Tower. The Seminole also doubled its number of restaurants and added a retail mall with a dozen shops.
The Seminole Hard Rock also remodeled the pool deck and expanded the event space to 120,000-square-feet. Finally, a 42,000-square-foot luxury day spa was added to the property.
The two new hotel towers were booked up throughout the opening weekend, which included a ceremonial guitar-smashing, a light show, celebrity guests, and the members of the Seminole Tribe.
