When our forefathers created Veterans Day many decades ago, I don’t think they envisioned it as a day to honor one’s hope of hitting a penny slot jackpot.

Nevertheless, because of the numerical significance of this year’s holiday (11/11/11), it also coincides with the grand opening of Casino del Sol’s long-in-the-works hotel complex on West Valencia Road.

It “officially” opens at 11:11 a.m. — I never realized there’d be a set time to this during all those occasions I saw the clock counting down at the top of Sol Casino’s Web site — with a cheesy ribbon cutting in the hotel’s lobby.

Things start to ramp up, entertainment-wise, at 6 p.m. with a fireworks display, followed by a 7:30 p.m. concert at AVA Amphitheater featuring Pepe Aguilar, Alejandra Guzman and Intocable. There’s also a free concert at the same time in the hotel’s events center, featuring the Tejano All-Stars and the Chicano All-Stars.

Saturday’s festivities include an already sold-out performance by Tim McGraw, but at 10:30 p.m. there’s a free show in the hotel headlined by Cheap Trick, those bastions of tribal casino entertainment.

There’s also countless amounts of slots, table games, poker and other wagering action available 24-7, just in case you thought this place was all about the music and not still heavily centered around risking your latest paycheck.