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Empress Casino Hotel - Card rooms – Joliet Casinos, Illinois Casinos

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The Empress Casino in Joliet boasts a 50,000 square foot casino offering over 1,100 slots, including all the popular video, reel and progressive games plus 20 table games including live poker. The casino is exciting and comfortable all at the same time, with wide aisles, high ceilings, an ultra modern air cleaning system to help you breathe the cleanest air possible and easier access from restaurants and parking.

With 30 action-packed table games and over 1100 of the hottest slots, three critically acclaimed restaurants to cater to your every need, and a recently renovated 102-room hotel, the Empress stands ready to entertain on a grand scale. The Empress has been voted “Best Place to Gamble” seven years in a row by the Star and Daily Southtown newspapers and Casino Player Magazine has given them the distinction of “Loosest Dollar Slots in Chicagoland.” Come in and give them a try. With over 1100 slots and 30 table games like Mini-Baccarat, Caribbean Stud, Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, and Three Card Poker, you’re sure to find a game that interests you.

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The Times Weekly

Local News Source Joliet County | Joliet News

Groundbreaking ceremony for relocated Hollywood Casino Joliet 

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     Hollywood Casino Joliet groundbreaking ceremony welcomed county officials, businesses, and other community stakeholders to what will be the location of the new land based, casino and entertainment facility. The new casino will replace the company’s riverboat casino currently located in Joliet, which opened as the Empress in June 1992 and reopened as Hollywood Casino Joliet June 2009. Hollywood Casino, owned by PENN Entertainment, Inc., hosted the groundbreaking on Wednesday December 13, 2023.

The $185 million regional destination will anchor RockRun Collection, a new super-regional commercial and residential development, conveniently located adjacent to the Interstate 80 and Interstate 55 interchange in Joliet and projected to have 230,000 passing vehicles daily. The best-in-class facility will feature approximately 850 slots and 44 live table games, including a baccarat room, a retail sportsbook, high quality bars and restaurants, an approximately 10,000 square foot event center with meeting areas, and approximately 1,330 parking spaces. The Company expects to create 450 construction jobs and 515 permanent jobs at the new facility, growing PENN’s current team in Joliet by 150 team members. 

“We are very excited to be moving forward with construction on a new, state-of-the-art Hollywood Casino Joliet in an ideal location,” said Jay Snowden, CEO and President of PENN Entertainment. “Our close proximity to two interstates and surrounding mixed-use development will offer our modern facility with exceptional visibility and accessibility in the highly attractive Chicagoland market.” 

The move onto land was predicated by a law signed in 2019 that allowed for riverboat casinos to relocate landside. The existing Hollywood Casino Joliet, which is located on the Des Plaines River, will maintain its normal operations while the new land-based facility is constructed, which is anticipated to take approximately 24 months. 

“From our day-one team members to the hundreds of individuals that will be joining us in the months ahead, this is an incredibly exciting milestone for all of us with the property and local community,” said Mike Thoma, Vice President & General Manager of Hollywood Casino Joliet. “We can’t wait to provide our guests with an even greater customer experience at the future Hollywood Casino Joliet.” 

The Company has invited members of the Illinois Gaming Board, Illinois General Assembly, the Mayor of Joliet and the City Council, labor organizations, and other local stakeholders to the groundbreaking ceremony. 

The new Hollywood Casino Joliet is part of a previously announced plan for four new growth projects in Aurora, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Henderson, Nevada. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has committed up to $575 million towards the overall $850 million budget for all four growth projects. 

Operated by PENN Entertainment, Hollywood Casino Joliet is located off Interstate 80 and is open 22 hours a day, seven days a week. The facility features a 50,000 square foot gaming floor with over 900 slot machines and 25 table games, a comedy club, and a recently updated sports bar and retail sportsbook. Dining options include Final Cut Steakhouse, 99 Hops House, VIP Lounge, and Take Two Deli. Hollywood Casino Joliet offers a 100-room hotel and multi-purpose banquet and event space. For more visit www.hollywoodcasinojoliet.com.  

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Harrah’s Joliet Riverboat Casino Review

Joint-owned by Caesars Entertainment and Missouri hotel developer, John Hammons, Harrah’s Joliet is a riverboat hotel and casino in Joliet, Illinois. With 80% of the shares, Caesars Entertainment is the dominant force behind Harrah’s Joliet.

Located on the Des Plaines riverfront on Joliet Street, Harrah’s Joliet is a modern Art-Deco-style resort with a 204-room hotel, 40 000 square feet of gaming space, 31 table games, over 1 000 slot machines, a poker room, a gift shop, and four restaurants.

The History of Harrah’s Joliet

Because Harrah’s Joliet opened in 1993, when land-based casinos were still illegal in Illinois, the venue was originally based on the Northern Star, a 210-foot yacht that cruised the Des Plaines River every two hours. The Northern Star featured 40 table games and 500 slot machines. In 1994, Harrah’s Joliet expanded onto a second vessel, the Southern Star, which, with its paddleboat look, was much better suited to the role aesthetically.

In 1999, the 11-floor Harrah’s Joliet Hotel was added on the banks of the Des Plaines River.

Harrah’s Joliet took its present form in 2001, when Illinois law was altered to allow riverboat casinos to remain docked. In response to this change the Northern Star and the Southern Star were replaced with two joined barges.

Staying Over at Harrah’s Joliet

There are four options to choose from when booking one of the 204 luxury rooms at the Harrah’s Joliet Hotel: Luxury King, Premium King, Luxury Double Queen, and Premium Double Queen.

Guests may opt for either one king-sized bed or two queen sets and highlights include pay-per-view movies, private voice mail, fully stocked bar fridges, hair dryers, and more. Premium rooms are located on a separate secured floor of the Harrah’s Joliet hotel. Room rates at Harrah’s Joliet range from US$ 71 to US$ 105.

Games to Play at Harrah’s Joliet

There are 1 138 slot machines, including over 200 video poker games, on the casino floor at Harrah’s Joliet. Popular slot machine titles include Reels of Wheels, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, Moby Dick, and The Walking Dead, whilst video poker players can choose from Double Bonus, Deuces Wild, and other variation found at CAD casino .

For a more traditional kind of poker, Harrah’s Joliet players can visit the resort’s World Series of Poker Room, which has multiple tables and hosts weekly poker Deep Stack, Mini-Deep, No-Limit Hold’Em, Limit and Bounty tournaments.

Other table games on offer at Harrah’s Joliet include blackjack, craps, roulette, mini-baccarat, and more.

Places to Eat at Harrah’s Joliet

There are several different restaurants at Harrah’s Joliet, which cover buffet, casual and upscale dining.

Flavours buffet, for example, offers a wide array of dishes from all over the world, including deep-dish pizza, stir fry, barbeque, and more, with the selection becoming even greater and more interesting on theme nights. The buffet also features 40 feet of desserts, including a wheel of cupcakes.

Aces Diner, meanwhile, serves up casual all-American fare like burgers, hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and more. Harrah’s Joliet also has its own Starbucks, where guests can enjoy a range of coffee-based beverages as well as light meals like pastries and sandwiches.

For a more formal setting and a fine-dining experience, Harrah’s Joliet guests can visit The Reserve, which serves pasta, rib-eye, tiramisu, fruit crepes, and other similar dishes.

Things to Do at Harrah’s Joliet

For night-time entertainment, Harrah’s Joliet guests can visit Sheer cocktail bar or travel into the city and attend a show at the Rialto Square Theatre.

Harrah’s Joliet also has its own gift shop, where guests can purchase Chicagoland souvenirs, apparel, and other items.

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Crews break ground on new Hollywood Casino in Joliet

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- There was a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a new Hollywood Casino location in Joliet.

Even as officials put shovels in the dirt for the symbolic groundbreaking, crews were already moving dirt on the real construction site a few yards away.

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The site is planned to be a new $185 million casino complex, featuring slot machines and table games along with lots of hotel, restaurant and entertainment space, including a convention center.

"It's going to be so important for this region to develop a destination that functions for everybody and creates the opportunity to have some fun," said Doug Pryor with Will Co. Center for Economic Development.

Joliet has had riverboat casinos for more than three decades, including Harrah's casino, which is owned by Caesars Entertainment.

The time has come for Hollywood Casino, which is owned by Penn Entertainment, to move off of the water after a change in the law allowing land-based casinos in Illinois.

The casino will be in a much higher profile location, near the interchange of I-55 and I-80 with about 230,000 cars passing by a day.

"The location of this we think will help drive more business to the property," said Mike Thoma with Hollywood Casino Joliet. "It's a fantastic location."

The groundbreaking event comes less than a month after a similar groundbreaking for the same company in Aurora , where they also plan to move from the Riverboat downtown to a land-based location just off Interstate-88

With immense competition for gambling dollars from video gaming locations in bars and restaurants to online as well as brick and mortar sports books, it is a difficult landscape for casinos. They are hoping the tremendous growth in Will County will help draw business.

"That kind of is a magnet to bring all kinds of other businesses, restaurants," Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy said. "We're trying to develop a second downtown."

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Hollywood Casino in Aurora and Joliet to Build Land-Based Facilities

Construction of both properties is expected to begin in 2023, published october 10, 2022 • updated on october 10, 2022 at 8:03 pm.

Hollywood Casino plans to relocate its casinos in Aurora and Joliet, moving both from riverboat sites to land-based properties near major interstates, the entertainment facilities' parent company announced Monday.

The proposed $360 million casino and hotel development in Aurora would be located adjacent to the Chicago Premium Outlets, near Exit 119 off of Interstate 88. Featuring approximately 900 slots and 50 live table games, the development will also include a baccarat room and a poker room, a Barstool Sportsbook, approximately 200 hotel rooms as well as restaurants and bars, according to Penn Entertainment.

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Construction of the property, which will also feature a full-service spa, meeting space and an event center, will begin in late 2023. The project is subject to regulatory approval.

Plans call for the Joliet casino to be constructed as part of the Rock Run Crossings development project near the Interstate 80 and 55 interchange, several miles from its current site along the Des Plaines River.

Similar to the proposed casino in Aurora, the Joliet facility will include approximately 800 slots and 45 live table games, a Barstool Sportsbook, meeting space and an event center. Construction is slated to start in late 2023, and it's also subject to regulatory approval.

Penn Entertainment on Monday also announced the construction of a new hotel at the Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio, and a second hotel tower at its M Resort in Henderson, Nevada.

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