KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Ho-Chunk Nation will open its new casino in Beloit, Wisconsin, to the public at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026, ending a project that the Nation has been developing since 2012. Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit, at 777 Willowbrook Road near Interstate 90 and the Illinois state line, is the Nation’s seventh gaming location in Wisconsin and the first phase of a larger resort.
A Rock River Current reporter photographed the gaming floor, high-limit room, bars and dining areas on Wednesday, October 14, while the hotel tower was still under construction. The Nation’s own announcement says the casino floor will operate around the clock, while the casino’s web page lists set hours that end at 2 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
This article sets out what has been announced, compares the figures different sources give for the gaming floor, traces the long approval process, and places the opening in the context of the competing casino in Rockford, Illinois.
What the Ho-Chunk Nation Announced
The Nation’s Office of the President said in a press release that the grand opening will take place on October 23, 2026, and described the date as a milestone for a project in development since 2012. Channel 3000 reported that the day will begin with a ribbon cutting, remarks from invited speakers and performances, and that visitors can come in starting at 2 p.m.
The first phase includes the gaming floor, a parking garage and four food and drink venues: Livewire Lounge, Food Truck Alley, Black River Coffee Shop and Draft Pick Pub House. For table games, the press release names craps, roulette, baccarat, blackjack, three-card poker, Mississippi stud, I Love Suits, ultimate Texas hold’em and live poker. Live poker is part of the opening lineup, which matters for readers who follow the poker rooms at tribal properties.
Nation President Jon Greendeer said in the release, “We can’t believe it’s finally happening and we are extremely excited.” Steven Abangan, who manages the property, said in a news release, as quoted by Rock River Current, that the opening reflects a commitment to “creating a premier entertainment destination while contributing to local economic growth.”
The second phase is the hotel and convention center. The Nation says both are scheduled to open in fall 2027, which it describes as completing the full resort. Until then, construction will continue next to an operating casino, a point Channel 3000 also noted in its coverage of the date announcement.
The Numbers and the Floor Plan
Several sources describe the same building, and they do not agree on every count. The Nation’s press release gives 1,300 slot machines for the opening floor. Rock River Current, in its September 23 report and again in its October 15 photo feature, gave about 1,300 machines and 40 tables. Channel 3000 reported roughly 1,300 slots and 40 tables.
The Beloit page on the Ho-Chunk Gaming website answers a visitor question differently: 1,500 slot machines and 44 table games. None of the sources reviewed explains the difference, so this article reports each figure with its source instead of choosing one.
Food and drink offerings also vary by description. The press release names Livewire Lounge, Food Truck Alley, Black River Coffee Shop and Draft Pick Pub House. Rock River Current’s October 15 feature counts four dining areas, naming Food Truck Alley, Black River Coffee Shop, Fyre Steakhouse and Draft Picks Pub House. The casino’s web page lists three restaurants, a coffee bar and a 90-seat bar.
The table compares what each source says, using the most recent version of each. Cells marked as not stated mean the source did not give the figure.
| Item | Ho-Chunk Nation press release | Rock River Current | Casino web page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slot or gaming machines | 1,300 slot machines | Approximately 1,300 | 1,500 slot machines |
| Table games | Not stated | 40 | 44 |
| Floor hours | Open 24 hours | 24 hours, seven days a week | Sunday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. |
| Hotel | Fall 2027 | 18 floors, 312 rooms, fall 2027 | 312-room hotel |
| Conference space | Convention center, fall 2027 | 2,000 seats | 2,000-seat space |
Taken together, the table shows that the disagreements are limited to the machine count, the table count, the hours and how the restaurants are grouped, while the opening date, the hotel’s size and the conference seating are consistent across sources.
How the Beloit Project Got Here
The opening follows an unusually long approval path. Channel 3000 reported that Beloit voters approved a casino project in 1999 and that the Nation’s application process began in 2012, with hopes at the time of opening in 2021. The federal record gives the application date as March 29, 2012, when the Nation asked the Interior Department to take about 32 acres in Beloit into trust for gaming and other purposes.
Because the land was acquired in trust after October 17, 1988, federal law generally bars gaming on it unless an exception applies. The Nation used the exception known as a secretarial or two-part determination. Under it, the Interior secretary must find, after consulting the tribe and state, local and nearby tribal officials, that gaming would serve the tribe’s best interest and would not harm the surrounding community. The governor must then concur before gaming can begin.
Interior made that determination on April 16, 2020, and Gov. Tony Evers wrote a letter of concurrence dated March 24, 2021. In it he said he expected the state and the Nation to complete an amendment to the Nation’s gaming compact needed to permit gaming at the site. The Beloit Daily News later reported that federal approval to put 33 of the site’s 73.5 acres into trust came in May 2022.
The sources do not fully agree on timing. Channel 3000 described Evers and the Interior Department as signing over land in early 2021, whereas the dated documents show the governor’s concurrence in March 2021 and the Beloit Daily News dates final trust approval to May 2022. This article follows the dated documents where the two conflict.
A local agreement was also part of the path. The Beloit Daily News reported that the city, Rock County and the Nation first signed an intergovernmental agreement in 2012 and that the city council voted unanimously in May 2024 to reinstate it through the end of 2024 after it lapsed in 2022. According to that report, Beloit and Rock County are to be paid a portion of the casino’s winnings.
| Date | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Beloit voters approve a casino project | Channel 3000 |
| March 29, 2012 | Nation asks Interior to take about 32 acres into trust | Interior decision; Evers letter |
| April 16, 2020 | Interior issues its secretarial determination | Evers letter |
| March 24, 2021 | Gov. Evers concurs | Evers letter |
| May 2022 | Federal approval to place 33 acres in trust | Beloit Daily News |
| May 2024 | Beloit council reinstates the local agreement | Beloit Daily News |
| October 23, 2026 | Scheduled public opening of the casino | Ho-Chunk Nation |
Jobs and Local Impact
The Nation says it aims to hire approximately 1,500 employees once the whole resort is complete. Rock River Current reported that, with the casino and hotel operating, Ho-Chunk is expected to become the city’s biggest employer, with about 1,500 people. The press release uses the 1,500 figure as the hiring target for the finished resort, not for the casino alone.
The Beloit Daily News put that number in local context in May 2024. It reported that Hendricks Holding Co. and ABC Supply together employ around 1,400 people, that Beloit Health System and Amazon’s fulfillment center each have about 1,250, and that Frito-Lay has around 850. Those employer counts date from 2024 and may have changed.
The federal determination from 2020 offered an estimate of pay. It estimated total pay per worker at the proposed project, counting tips, taxes and benefits, at about $48,000. That figure was a projection made years before opening, so it describes the Nation’s planning assumptions, not actual wages at the new property.
Public revenue is another piece. The Beloit Daily News reported that estimates of the payments to Beloit and Rock County from the casino’s winnings ran between $3 million and $5 million annually. The report did not break that range down by recipient, and actual payments will depend on the casino’s results once it is operating.
What Is Confirmed and What Is Not
The confirmed facts are narrow and clear. The Nation has set October 23, 2026, at 2 p.m. for the public opening, and a local reporter who visited on October 14 photographed the main gaming floor, high-limit room, bars and dining areas. A casino that has not yet admitted the public has not yet reported any results.
The hotel is not part of the opening. It is an 18-floor building that was still under construction when reporters visited, with an expected opening in fall 2027 according to both the Nation and Rock River Current. Opening day is a first phase, not the full resort, and the 1,500-employee goal applies to the completed project.
Several details remain unconfirmed in the sources reviewed. The machine and table counts differ, as shown above. The terms of the gaming compact amendment that Evers referred to in 2021 are not described in the materials reviewed for this article. No source gives a revenue forecast for the Beloit property, and this article does not offer one.
It is also worth separating the build cost from the opening. The Beloit Daily News described the project as costing $400 million in its 2024 coverage of the city council vote, before construction finished, so that figure is a reported project estimate from that date and not a final cost.
Market Context: Rockford and Illinois
The nearest major competitor is across the state line. Channel 3000 reported that Illinois approved a casino in Rockford in 2019, about a half-hour drive south of Beloit, and that Hard Rock Casino Rockford moved to a permanent site in 2024. The Rockford Register Star said the permanent casino opened on August 29, 2024, and put the distance to the Beloit casino at roughly 17 miles.
That newspaper, citing Illinois Gaming Board data, reported that Hard Rock Rockford generated $78.8 million in revenue after winnings were paid in the first six months of 2026, nearly 8% more than the nearly $73 million for the same period of 2025. For all of 2025 the casino reported $146.2 million in adjusted gross revenue. It ranked third among Illinois’ 17 casinos through the first six months of 2026.
Slots accounted for $65.9 million of the 2026 total, from roughly 1,300 machines, and its 50 table games brought in $12.9 million, up more than 20% from $10.7 million a year earlier. The casino employs about 1,000 people, according to the same report. The numbers show a competitor with a similar slot count to the one Beloit announced, though Channel 3000 notes that Beloit adds a hotel that Rockford lacks.
Hard Rock Rockford’s president, Geno Iafrate, told the newspaper that a new facility typically draws a trial period that affects revenue, and that the size and length of any impact were not yet known. He added, “Over time, multiple casinos proximate to each other is good for the market.” Because Beloit has not yet opened, no data yet shows how the new casino affects Rockford’s results.
Within Wisconsin, the Beloit property is the Nation’s seventh and joins six other Ho-Chunk locations, in Wisconsin Dells, Wittenberg, Tomah, Nekoosa, Madison and Black River Falls, according to Rock River Current.
What to Watch After Opening Day
The first date to watch is the opening itself. The Nation has scheduled a ribbon-cutting, speakers and entertainment on October 23 before the 2 p.m. public opening, and the Nation’s announcement and the casino’s web page are the primary sources for any change to the schedule.
The second is the machine and table count the casino settles on. Once the floor is open, the Nation or local media may publish a definitive figure that resolves the difference between roughly 1,300 slots and 40 tables, on one hand, and 1,500 slots and 44 tables on the other. Until then, both sets of numbers are on the record and are attributed here.
The third is the earliest revenue data. The Illinois Gaming Board publishes each Illinois casino’s results in monthly reports, which gives readers a running comparison point near the state line. Any shift in Rockford’s table or slot results in the months after October 23 would show up against that record, though a change would not by itself prove a cause.
The last is the hotel and conference center, which the Nation says will follow in fall 2027. That second phase is when the 1,500-job goal is meant to be reached, so hiring announcements and construction updates between now and then will indicate whether the schedule holds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Illinois Gaming Board — Monthly Reports (accessed October 16, 2026)
- Ho-Chunk Nation Office of the President — Ho-Chunk Nation Announces the Casino Grand Opening of Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit (September 2026)
- Ho-Chunk Gaming — Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit (accessed October 16, 2026)
- Rock River Current — Photos: An early glimpse inside the future Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit (October 15, 2026)
- Rock River Current — Ho-Chunk announces grand opening date for new Beloit casino (September 23, 2026)
- Channel 3000 — Ho-Chunk Gaming Beloit sets grand opening date (September 24, 2026)
- Rockford Register Star — Hard Rock Casino Rockford stays no. 3 in Illinois for making money (July 14, 2026)
- U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs — Ho-Chunk Trust Acquisition Two-Part Determination (April 2020)
- Governor Tony Evers — Concurrence with April 16, 2020 Secretarial Determination (March 24, 2021)
- Beloit Daily News — Beloit City Council extends 2012 agreement with Ho Chunk to end of 2024 (May 7, 2024)