In December 2020 the Indiana Gaming Commission suspended the gaming license of Rod Ratcliff, the former CEO and major shareholder of Spectacle Entertainment. The commission also approved Hard Rock International as a minority owner.Ī groundbreaking ceremony for the Hard Rock Casino Gary was held January 9, 2020. On the Indiana Gaming Commission issued a final authorization to Spectacle Entertainment to replace its two Majestic Star Casino boats with a land casino in Gary at 29th Avenue and Burr Street. Spectacle Entertainment, who had purchased the two Majestic Star casino boats in Buffington Harbor in March 2019, was granted permission to move the Majestic Star casino licenses to a new casino to be constructed on land in Gary, Indiana.
In 2019 Indiana passed a new gaming law that authorized construction of a new casino in Gary. It was preceeded by the traditional Hard Rock guitar-smashing ceremony that morning.
The grand opening of the Hard Rock Casino in Gary, Indiana was May 14, 2021.
