Illinois casinos see highest visitor numbers since 2018
Revenue grew 2.2 per cent compared to March.
US.- Illinois’ 12 casinos have reported combined adjusted gross revenues (AGR) of $128.1m in April, up 2.2 per cent compared to March. The figure reported by the Illinois Gaming Board represents an increase of 4.5 per cent over the $122.5m reported in April 2022.
Rivers Casino recorded AGR of $45.3m, Grand Victoria Casino $13.6m and Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel registered $12.2. Casinos generated $22.6m in taxes.
Year-to-date AGR is $487m, up 15 per cent compared to the first four months of 2022. It’s the highest AGR figure reported for the first four months since 2014. For the first four months of 2023, the state has collected just under $100m in taxes from casinos.
The Illinois Gaming Board reported that casino attendance is at its highest since 2018. In the first four months of 2023, nearly 3.4 million people visited the state’s casinos, just below the 3.5 million that visited them in the same period in 2018.
Illinois Gaming Board approves Penn’s riverboat casino relocations
The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has approved Penn Entertainment’s proposal to relocate its two riverboat casinos. Penn’s Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet will be moved to land-based locations.
In 2022, Penn announced plans to relocate its suburban Chicago casinos. The company will invest over $500m in reconstructing its venues and making them more accessible.
Hollywood Casino Aurora will be relocated from its site on a downtown island in the Fox River to a land-based location near the Chicago Premium Outlets mall and the Fermilab campus. The $360m venue will offer a casino with 900 slots and 50 tables. The resort will also offer a 200-room hotel, bars and restaurants, meeting space, and an event center.
