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.

More than six years and three months have passed since word first leaked out prominent local business leaders Jim McGlothlin and Clyde Stacy intended to convince the Virginia General Assembly to legalize gambling so they could establish a casino at the former Bristol Mall.

Russia is suffering nearly 2,000 casualties a day trying to recapture the Kursk region and seize ground along the main front line in eastern Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s military. In this left vision,

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.