Hollywood Casino Aurora to host groundbreaking ceremony
Penn Entertainment will host a groundbreaking ceremony today (November 29).
US.- Penn Entertainment will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Illinois’ Hollywood Casino Aurora today (November 29). The new land-based casino, hotel and entertainment facility will replace the company’s riverboat casino. Construction is anticipated to take approximately 24 months.
Penn has invited members of the Illinois Gaming Board, Illinois General Assembly, the mayor of Aurora and the City Council, labour organisations and other local stakeholders to the ceremony. The $360m venue will be located adjacent to the Chicago Premium Outlets, near Interstate 88.
It will feature roughly 1,200 games, 220 guest rooms, a retail sportsbook, an outdoor entertainment area, a spa, bars, and restaurants. It will also have a 12,000-square-foot event centre and approximately 1,700 parking spaces. The company expects to create 700 construction jobs and 700 permanent jobs at the new venue.
The relocation of Hollywood Casino was approved by the Aurora City Council in June. The City Council voted 10-1 to modify the zoning to allow construction on Penn Entertainment’s gaming venue.
Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment, said: “We are thrilled to soon begin construction on a new, state-of-the-art Hollywood Casino Aurora. Our tremendous and long-lasting partnership with the City of Aurora has provided an opportunity to relocate our property to an ideal location that will significantly improve our offerings and further our positive economic impact on the community.”
Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino Aurora, added: “We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with our team members and many key stakeholders that have helped bring us to this point. This is an exciting start to our next chapter, and we cannot wait to welcome residents and visitors of Chicagoland to the new Hollywood Casino Aurora when completed.”
The new Hollywood Casino Aurora is part of a previously announced plan consisting of four projects in Joliet, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio and Henderson, Nevada. Gaming and Leisure Properties has committed up to $575m towards the overall $850m budget.
On November 28, Penn Entertainment will host a groundbreaking ceremony for a new hotel at Hollywood Casino Columbus, Ohio. The hotel, with an estimated budget of approximately $100m, will be attached to the existing property.
Illinois casinos report $129m in revenue for October
Illinois’ 15 land-based casinos reported revenue of $129m for October, according to the Illinois Gaming Board. The figure was down 2.4 per cent compared to the $132.1m reported in September but up 11.3 per cent year-on-year.
Rivers Casino was the top revenue-earner in the state with $43.3m. Grand Victoria Casino and Harrah’s Joliet Casino reported $11.7m and $10.1m respectively. Bally’s Chicago, the state’s newest casino and the only property in Chicago, posted $7.6m in revenue.
