The residents of Waukegan, Illinois have been waiting with bated breath for the opening of the brand-new American Place Casino in Waukegan. The Temporary by American Place was Full House’s proposed temporary casino in the Waukegan area. The brand intends to run the temporary location while designing its permanent facility.
Waukegan is located roughly 45 miles north of the city, where Major Lori Lightfoot announced Bally’s as the first finalist for the hotly contested downtown casino license. Waukegan is also located 20 miles from Wisconsin where sports betting is permitted on a limited basis via tribal casinos.
The newest brick-and-mortar casino in Illinois was slated to welcome its first guests in October. However, the opening of the casino has stalled due to unforeseen delays. Management had anticipated that construction of the temporary casino would take place in as little as 7 months. However, this hasn’t been the case so far.
Full House completed the construction on the foundation for the newest casino in Illinois earlier last year in June. The construction process, which was being overseen by well-established Turner Construction, continually faced supply chain issues as well as labor shortages thus making it difficult to launch on time.
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The casino continues to face delays and interruptions
According to administrators of the casino, the process of setting up the temporary casino has been made complex by many factors including the licensing process. As part of the expanded gaming law of 2019, casino licenses for Waukegan, which is situated approximately 30 miles north of Chicago, were approved.
Other regions that received the same casino licenses include Williamson, Rockford, and Danville. The approval process for the casino licenses was met with constant delays by the state and in some instances, the local leaders themselves. As such, the project in Waukegan kicked off much later than was originally planned.
Last year in September, executives with The Temporary announced that the construction project had been facing supply chain issues that caused the opening date to be pushed back yet again. According to the senior VP for Full House Resorts, Alex Stolyar, complications in the approval process had slowed down the project.
So far, the exterior of the temporary casino appears to be largely complete. As such, the construction crew at Turner Construction now appears to be finishing up the interior of the 5,000-square-foot gambling hall. Though it will only be a temporary casino location, the American Place casino is expected to offer a one-of-a-kind betting experience to the residents of Waukegan.
The 75,000-square-foot gambling hall, which will be aptly situated next to the Fountain Square Shopping Centre, will hold at least 1000 slot machines and 50 table games. The casino hall is also expected to include a Circa Sportsbook, as well as at least 3 restaurants and a massive bar.
It should be noted that in May 2022, Full House Resorts entered into a strategic partnership with Circa Sports that will see the Las Vegas-based sportsbook join the lucrative Illinois sports betting market. The Circa brand is active in multiple states including Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada.
Thanks to this partnership, residents of Waukegan will now be treated to the industry-leading hospitality and sports betting experience that they’ve been yearning for. As mentioned above, Circa Sports is already an established sports betting brand that has developed incredible relationships with bettors over the years.
As such, bringing its products to punters in Illinois is no doubt a major milestone. Owing to this strategic relationship, Full House will operate Circa Sports Sportsbook on site, which will be the temporary venue until the permanent facility is ready. The temporary facility is expected to remain operational for about 12 to 24 months while Turner Construction finalizes the permanent facility to be located in Fountain Square.
Once complete, the permanent casino is anticipated to offer punters in the area access to more than 1600 slot machines and 100 table games. Circa will also have a sportsbook lounge, a restaurant, as well as 1500 capacity entertainment and conference venue. The permanent location at Full House is expected to attract high-end punters and a more upscale gambling growth.
American Palace hopes to make full advantage of Full House’s expansive database of patrons. These patrons have become accustomed to the casinos in Colorado and Louisiana. As such, both Full House and Circa Sports are gearing up to offer a unique Vegas-type gambling experience that punters in the region have never experienced before.
More casinos coming to the state
The new American Palace in Waukegan is one of the 6 new casinos that were granted a casino license thanks to the gaming expansion bill of 2019. The state already has 11 casinos namely:
- Argosy Casino Alton
- DraftKings at Casino Queen
- Rivers Casino
- Hard Rock Casino Rockford
- Hollywood Casino Joliet
- Harrah’s Metropolis Casino
- Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel
- Grand Victoria Casino
- Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel
- Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino
- Hollywood Casino Aurora
When the American Palace casino welcomes its first guests, it will become Illinois’ 12th legal casino. In addition to the already competitive market, 5 more casinos are also expected to debut operations in the coming year. For instance, the Golden Nugget Danville is scheduled to start operating in March 2023.
The Danville Golden Nugget Casino will include a 41,500-square-foot gaming hall capable of accommodating at least 500 slot machines and 14 table games. The Danville casino will also include 2 high-end restaurants, as well as a Golden Nugget-branded sportsbook lounge.
A new temporary Bally’s Casino is also scheduled to launch in June 2023. Bally’s Chicago Casino will be located at the Medinah Temple but the permanent location will not be operational until 2025 at the earliest. In total, construction of the temporary location in Medinah Temple is expected to cost Bally’s at least $1.7 billion.
Final Thoughts
Two other casinos that are expected to launch in late 2023 include the permanent Hard Rock Rockford casino and Williamson County’s Walker’s Bluff Casino. Lastly, Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino which is operated by The Poarch Band of Creek Indians broke ground in June 2022 with hopes to start operating before the end of 2023.
