JESFFERSON, Iowa — A big celebration is taking place this weekend in Jefferson as the Wild Rose Casino and Resort opens.

The first dice roll took place at the craps table at 5 p.m. Country and pop music icon and legend Kenny Rogers will headline the casino’s grand opening entertainment tonight and perform again tomorrow night.

The celebration is designed to live up to the slogan “small town friendly, big city wild.”

Wild Rose Jefferson received a gaming license from the IRGC in June of last year. The casino-events center project will add more than 250 jobs to the region with an estimated annual payroll of $7 million.

The project features an 18,000-square-foot casino with 536 slot machines and.