The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol opened the doors to its permanent home on Thursday. Country music star Blake Shelton performed at the casino’s entertainment venue to celebrate its grand opening.

The permanent Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol in Virginia marked its official grand opening on Thursday with a guitar smash ceremony. The $500 million resort now occupies the site of the former Bristol Mall, offering a blend of gaming, entertainment, and dining designed to attract tourists from across the region and beyond.

With the grand opening of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol on Thursday, employees are hard at work preparing for the doors to officially open to the public. On Tuesday, employees held a team member rally to get everyone pumped up for opening day.

People from all over the region came to check out the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol for the grand opening. On Thursday morning, News 5's Natalea Hillen spoke with excited casino-goers who waited to get in.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol is set to open Thursday. The iconic guitar smash is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The grand opening is set for noon. We plan to stream those events on our website and social media platforms. There are some traffic changes to be aware of as well.

Hard Rock Casino in October once again tallied more "win" — or revenue after paying successful bettors — than any of its competitors for a 36th consecutive month.