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Illinois Casinos PDF Print E-mail
Illinois was the second state to legalize riverboat casinos. Riverboat casinos began operating there in September 1991 with the launching of the first boat: the Alton Belle.

All Illinois riverboats remain dockside and do not cruise. Unlike Mississippi, however, the casinos are not open 24 hours and state law limits the number of gaming licenses to 10.

As of August 2008, there were nine casinos in operation and the 10th license was the subject of a lawsuit. It is unlikely that a 10th casino will open before late 2009.

Here's information from the Illinois Gaming Board showing each casino's average slot payback percentage for the one-year period from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008:

CASINO

PAYBACK %

Casino Queen

94.41

Alton Belle

93.61

Grand Victoria

93.44

Rock Island

93.28

Hollywood

92.14

Par-A-Dice

92.05

Harrah’s Joliet

91.81

Empress

91.68

Harrah’s Metropolis

89.78

These figures reflect the total percentages returned by each casino for all of their electronic machines. As you can see, the Casino Queen returned the most to its slot machine players, while Harrah's in Metropolis returned the least.

Admission is free to all Illinois casinos and, unless otherwise noted, all casinos offer: slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, Caribbean stud poker and three card poker. Some casinos also offer: let it ride (LIR), baccarat (B), mini-baccarat (MB), poker (P) and pai gow poker (PGP).

If you want to order a drink while playing, be aware that Illinois gaming regulations do not allow casinos to provide free alcoholic beverages. The minimum gambling age is 21.

For more information on visiting Illinois contact the state’s Bureau of Tourism at (800) 226-6632 or www.enjoyillinois.com

Shown below is a list of all Illinois casinos. Click on a casino name to see a page of detailed information about that particular casino. 
 
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Did You Know

The FBI estimates that more than $2.5 billion is illegally wagered annually on March Madness each year. Comparatively, sports book operators estimate $80 million to $90 million – less than 4 percent of the illegal take – is wagered on the tournament legally through Nevada’s 187 sports books. According to the NCAA, more than 10 percent of Americans participate in March Madness “office pools.”

The top 7 gaming markets in the U.S. and their annual revenues in 2007 were

  1. Las Vegas Strip  $6.750 billion 
  2. Atlantic City, N.J.   $4.921 billion
  3. Chicagoland, Ind./Ill.   $2.602 billion
  4. Connecticut  $1.685 billion
  5. Detroit  $1.335 billion 
  6. Tunica/Lula, Miss.  $1.243 billion
  7. Biloxi, Miss.   $1.007 billion

More bets are placed on the Super Bowl than on any other sporting event of the year, including March Madness.

Coming in at #2 last year was the Kentucky Derby

The 2007 Super Bowl marked the second biggest Super Bowl revenue for the Nevada Sports Books ever, with gross revenue for the weekend reaching $12.9 million.  Approximately $93 million was wagered on the Super Bowl in the state’s sports books in 2007, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

In the 12 states with commercial casinos in operation in 2007, casinos contributed $5.79 billion in tax revenue to state and local governments, a 11.3 percent increase over 2006

In 1989 The Mirage Hotel & Casino Resort opened in Las Vegas and it began the tradition of the destination casino resort. When it opened, the Mirage was the most expensive hotel casino ever built, with construction costs of $630 million. It featured more than 3,000 rooms and headliner attractions such as Siegfried and Roy's magic show.

Slots and other electronic gaming machines generate about 65% of the gaming revenues for the average U.S. casino.

Blackjack is the most popular table game in U.S. casinos.

There are 11 states with "racinos" - racetracks with a casino - Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana , Maine, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

Of the total amount bet on the Super Bowl, only about 1.5 percent is wagered legally; these bets are made by those over age 21 and physically present in the state of Nevada.