The first two-thirds of a month are in the books and the new land-based Hollywood Casino Joliet is off to a flying start.
The $185 million facility, which opened on Aug. 10, generated more revenue in three weeks than its predecessor riverboat did in any full month over the past five years, according to Illinois Gaming Board data.
Hollywood Casino Joliet jumped up to fifth among the state’s 17 casinos with nearly $11.2 million in adjusted gross receipts during 23 days of operation in August. The casino ranked fifth in admissions with more than 101,000 visitors, according to Gaming Board data.
On a projected full-month basis, Hollywood Casino Joliet would have ranked third in revenue for August behind Rivers Casino Des Plaines and Wind Creek Chicago Southland.
Rivers Casino generated nearly $42 million and Wind Creek $17 million in revenue during August, according to Gaming Board data released Monday. Hard Rock Casino Rockford ranked third at $13 million, followed by Grand Victoria in Elgin at $12.6 million and Bally’s Chicago at nearly $11.3 million.
One of the state’s original riverboats, Hollywood Casino Joliet was allowed to move to dry land by the state’s sweeping 2019 gambling expansion bill. It shut down its riverboat for good July 29 after three decades of floating on the Des Plaines River to transition to the massive new 189,000-square-foot casino complex.
Located in a mixed-use development by the Interstate 80 and Interstate 55 interchange, the new Hollywood Casino Joliet features 1,000 slots, 43 table games, a new retail sportsbook, a 10,000-square-foot event center and celebrity chef restaurants.
New casinos have proved a big draw in Illinois. Wind Creek in south suburban East Hazel Crest, which opened its 70,000-square-foot casino in November and added an adjacent hotel in April, is the second-busiest casino in the state this year behind perennial leader Rivers Casino Des Plaines.
Hard Rock Casino Rockford, which opened its 175,000-square-foot facility in August 2024 after nearly three years in temporary digs, is the third busiest casino in Illinois this year.
One year after launching its $300 million permanent casino, Hard Rock is looking to add a hotel to defend its turf against the Ho-Chunk Nation, which is building a casino complex 18 miles away in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Other facilities in the development pipeline include the new $360 million entertainment complex for Hollywood Casino Aurora, which is going up near I-88 and Chicago Premium Outlets mall and is slated to open next year. Co-owned with Hollywood Casino Joliet by Penn Entertainment, the Aurora casino complex will include 1,200 gaming positions, a 220-room hotel, a retail sportsbook, a spa, an outdoor entertainment area, a 12,000-square-foot event center and restaurants.
Bally’s Chicago, which has been operating a temporary casino at Medinah Temple for two years, is building a $1.7 billion complex that includes an exhibition hall, a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 10 restaurants and 4,000 gaming positions at the 30-acre site of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant.
The permanent Bally’s Chicago casino is scheduled to open by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Delayed by several lawsuits, Full House Resorts is looking to break ground this fall on its permanent American Place casino in Waukegan, which is expected to open in the third quarter of 2027. American Place has been operating out of a temporary facility since February 2023.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com