The parent company of East Chicago's Ameristar Casino soon will cut the ribbon on a $360 million gaming and entertainment destination in Aurora, Illinois.
The new, land-based Hollywood Casino Aurora is scheduled to open June 24. It's located along Interstate 88 adjacent to the Chicago Premium Outlets.
The Penn Entertainment property will offer guests 900 slot machines, 50 table games, a sportsbook, world-class dining, a 226-room hotel, a full-service spa and a 12,000-square-foot event center.
"We are thrilled to follow the successful rollout of Hollywood Casino Joliet last summer with another new land-based property, strengthening our overall retail portfolio in the Midwest and deepening our roots in the community," said Jay Snowden, Penn Entertainment CEO.
The $185 million Joliet casino welcomed its first guests in August 2025 at a land-based site near the intersection of Interstates 80 and 55. It replaced a riverboat casino docked in the Des Plaines River.
Both moves were made possible by a 2019 Illinois law permitting the state's casinos to relocate to more advantageous locations in their home communities, and adding new casinos in Chicago, Homewood-East Hazel Crest, Waukegan, Danville and Walker's Bluff.
Despite investing more than half a billion dollars in its Illinois properties, Penn Entertainment has not announced any plans to relocate or renovate its East Chicago riverboat casino on Lake Michigan, which first opened in 1997.
Also in Illinois, Full House Resorts broke ground Wednesday on its permanent $302 million American Place Casino in Waukegan, near Lake Michigan and just south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line.
The Waukegan casino has operated out of a temporary facility since February 2023. The new building, expected to open in 2028, will mimic the style of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and feature a larger gaming floor, new restaurants, bars and other amenities.
"Three years ago, we opened our doors in a temporary facility and promised the Waukegan community something bigger. Today, we’re moving ahead to deliver on that promise," said Jeff Babinski, American Place Casino vice president and general manager.
In Indiana, Full House operates the Rising Star Casino on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, a 1990s-era riverboat that consistently puts up the weakest monthly earnings of the Hoosier State's 13 commercial casinos, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission.
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