Friday, May 14 is the date set for the grand opening of the new $300 million Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary. But the 37-foot tall, 15-foot wide guitar that will welcome visitors is already up and illuminated.
The guitar is modeled on a 1965 Airline Town and Country guitar owned by onetime Gary resident Joe Jackson, patriarch of the Jackson 5. Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana President Matt Schuffert said, “This is the guitar that changed the world.”
Giovanni Taliaferro, director of memorabilia design for Hard Rock International, explained the back story of the guitar. “It was a prize possession of Joe’s and he had strict rules: No one was to touch his guitar. Well, the kids didn’t listen. Tito picked up the guitar and just started playing it, and he kept playing it, and he kept playing it. At the same time, Jermaine and Jackie stood up and started singing. And he’s like, ‘Wow, there’s something here.'”
Jackson’s actual guitar will have a place of honor inside the new 200,000-square-foot venue, plus other memorabilia from the Jacksons—including Michael Jackson’s iconic jacket from the “Beat It” video–and other musical performers and groups with ties to Gary, Northwest Indiana and Chicago. Taliaferro said, “This is THE guitar. I was just in Los Angeles and picked it up from Tito. And I want to thank the entire Jackson family for entrusting us with preserving and showcasing this precious artifact in their hometown of Gary, Indiana.”
From the outside, the Hard Rock looks as if it’s finished, but Schuffert said they’re down to the interior details. The facility will offer a casino with 1,650 slots and 80 table games, a sportsbook, five dining options, a Hard Rock Cafe, a Rock Shop and a 2,000-seat Hard Rock Live performance venue.
Several Jackson family members attended the groundbreaking in January 2020 for the casino, which will be the first land-based gaming facility in Northwest Indiana, replacing the Majestic Star Casino on Lake Michigan, which permanently closed April 18.
Under state law, Majestic Star employees are guaranteed jobs at the Hard Rock Casino. Schuffert commented, “As Majestic Star winds down their operations there, and really celebrates a great legacy over there, we’re looking forward to bringing that team over here and really putting together one big, great team.”
Schuffert said patrons used to visiting the Majestic Star or other Northwest Indiana casinos will be pleasantly surprised when they enter the Hard Rock for the first time. “It’s just a beautiful facility, it’s hard to put into words. I just can’t wait for people to see it for themselves,” he said.
