Hard Rock’s 62-foot replica Cheap Trick guitar arrives at Rockford casino

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A huge, 62-foot replica guitar monument to Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen has arrived at Hard Rock Casino Rockford, ready to be installed.

Nielsen’s iconic, checkerboard Hamer Standard guitar will welcome visitors to the new casino, which opens Thursday, August 29th.

“The number one most asked question in two years has been, when’s that guitar going up?” said Hard Rock Casino Rockford president Geno Iafrate. “Rick Nielsen actually just got back into town late last night, so Rick was able to come (and) join us to see his long-awaited guitar get unloaded and hopefully, by end of day tomorrow, we’ll actually see it assembled and up in the air.”

Nielsen, whose family is from Rockford, is a storied guitar collector. He showed off some of the 400 guitars in his collection at the “Rick’s Picks” exhibit at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in 2012.

Nielsen was present at Wednesday morning’s event, chatting with construction personnel and tossing guitar picks to the media in attendance.

“What I’m proud of is that that we get to we get to pay tribute to Rick,” Iafrate said. “I mean, Rick’s career, unbelievable, Hall of Fame music career. And you know what Cheap Trick and what Rick means to this city, and the gateway to Rockford, as you get off the interstate right here, you’re going to look at Rick’s legacy every time.”

The giant guitar arrived on several trucks Wednesday morning.

It took a Baltimore company five months to complete the giant sculpture.

The guitar monument will stand 62 feet and 10-inches tall, and 38 feet and 6-inches wide outside the front door of the building.

Later in the afternoon, a caravan of over a dozen Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies escorted a shipment of music memorabilia. Marketing director, Steve Platcow, said the casino would house one of the largest museums of its kind in the area.

“This curated memorabilia is relevant for the region. Smashing Pumpkins and Sam Cooke and and Eddie Vedder grew up in Evanston. No one is left out in this collection. And if you’re from the area and you had your favorite local people that hit it big, you’re going to come here and find the act that turns you on, that you grew up with, or that you’re listening to today with tremendous passion,” Platcow said.

The new casino, at 7801 E. State Street, on the site of the former Clock Tower Resort, will feature nearly 1,300 slot machines, 50 live table games including poker, a sportsbook, multiple food and beverage offerings , shopping, and the Hard Rock Live entertainment venue.

“It gets more and more exciting as it gets closer to being complete. But what I haven’t seen yet, is I haven’t seen it full of guests. And I think that opening day on August 29th when there’s 5,000-10,000 people in this building. That energy and excitement is just going to be overwhelming. I can’t wait to see it,” said Iafrate.

Several concerts are scheduled to celebrate the opening weekend, including The Nielsen Trust, Akon, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Brad Paisley.

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