Know When to Hold ‘em: Winning a Casino License Takes Perseverance, Creativity and Lots and Lots of Patience.

Rockford’s journey to securing a casino license is a story of strategic advocacy, perseverance and cross-organizational collaboration spanning four decades. At GrahamSpencer, we know that is true because we played support roles in all of Rockford’s efforts to earn a license.

The first such effort took place in the late 1980s when we were asked to prepare a custom-designed booklet making Rockford’s case directly to Illinois State Legislators— an approach designed to ensure that our message stood out when it landed on their desks in Springfield. The resulting heavy metal-bound booklets drew attention to the economic struggles faced by Rockford’s metal fabricating and fastener industries, which had been hit hard by the manufacturing downturn and the destructive recession of the early 1980s.

Fast forward to 2011, when a renewed effort emerged, led by the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the City of Rockford, the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce, the Rockford Area Economic Development Council and local and state legislators. Our campaign, entitled Rockford Casino Coalition / We’re All In, Governor Quinn, brought together a re-united front of stakeholders committed to bring a casino to Rockford. During another period of high unemployment and economic hardship, the Coalition launched a compelling campaign emphasizing job creation and regional growth as crucial benefits of casino development, the City of Rockford, the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce, the Rockford Area Economic Development Council and local and state legislators. Our campaign, entitled Rockford Casino Coalition / We’re All In, Governor Quinn, brought together a re-united front of stakeholders committed to bringing a casino to Rockford. During another period of high unemployment and economic hardship, the Coalition launched a compelling campaign emphasizing job creation and regional growth as crucial benefits of casino development

The We’re All In campaign called on Governor Pat Quinn to sign Senate Bill 0744, marking a local turning point that helped establish broad statewide support for gaming expansion. The campaign consisted of print, radio and television advertising as well as direct mail efforts and Public Relations that asked citizens to contact their elected officials to profess their support for the measure.

The most recent – and ultimately successful – campaign effort begun in 2019 celebrated the support of local and state-level elected officials WITH pithy headlines like JB Bet on Us. Our Governor is Aces; Steve Bet on Us. He Suits Rockford Well and Maurice Dealt Us In. He’s The Leader of The Club. Featuring officials’ images on playing card-inspired posters, social media, direct mail advertising and decks of actual playing cards shared directly with stakeholders, the campaign creatively reinforced the community’s commitment and readiness for casino development.

After Rockford’s case was presented before the Illinois Gaming Board on January 26, 2021, the community’s decades of advocacy and collaboration came up aces. On January 27, 2022, the Gaming Board granted a casino license to the local 815 Entertainment LLC led by Dan Fisher, marking a historic and transformative victory for the city.

The story of Rockford’s casino journey is not just one of winning approval for a license. It’s about a city, county and region rallying together across over four decades to create lasting economic opportunity and municipal revenue. From the early advocacy efforts of the 1980s to the triumphant license approval in 2022, we at GS tip our hats to all the leaders who paved the way to success. We could not be prouder to have played ongoing roles in supporting Rockford’s vision, ingenuity and determination to Bet on Itself.* 

*Apologies, Fred VanVleet

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