Excitement is building among Hard Rock fans as employees busily prepare for the grand opening of the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana on May 14.

The $300 million casino, located at 5400 W. 29th Ave. in Gary, will officially open at 5 p.m. with a lineup of musicians and plenty of dignitaries on hand.

Three members of the Jackson 5 – Tito, Marlon and Jackie – are expected to attend. The trio was at the casino’s groundbreaking ceremony just before the pandemic hit last year. Gary is the Jackson 5’s hometown – their childhood home is just miles away from the casino. Jermaine and Michael were the other two members of the group.

Grand opening events include a VIP-only red carpet preview party May 13 and the traditional guitar smashing ceremony May 14.

The trio of Jacksons are expected to be joined by other musicians who are also Gary natives. Those include Deniece Williams who sang the hit song “Let’s Hear It For the Boy,” Kym Mazelle, Ken and Donald Kinsey, Crystal Tailefero and Marshall Thompson of the Chi-Lites.

The day’s musical performance lineup includes Pete Wentz of rock band Fall Out Boy, blues legend Buddy Guy, and Mark McGrath, lead singer of the 90s band Sugar Ray.

The 200,000-square-foot casino has 1,650 slot machines and 80 table games. It’s amenities include an onsite sports book, five restaurants, retail shop and an almost 2,000 seat Hard Rock Live.

In addition to Jackson 5-era costumes, more than 170 pieces of music memorabilia representing a wide range of musical icons will be showcased, including from Lady Gaga, Eddie Van Halen, Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Pharrell, Shakira, Taboo, Elton John, Mary Wilson, Boy George, Paula Abdul, Taylor Swift, Styx, Mariah Carey and Fergie.

Another phase of the development, expected to be constructed later in the year, includes the addition of a hotel and an attached parking garage.

Opening weekend events will have limited capacity for safety and social distancing. For more information, call (219) 228-2383 or click here.

The Seminole Tribe is the parent entity of Hard Rock International.