The Casino Queen is a

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

located near the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, just across the river from downtown

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. It is owned by

Gaming and Leisure Properties Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. It was formed in November 2013 as a corporate spin-off from Penn National Gaming. The company owns ...

and operated by an employee-owned management company.

History

Illinois enacted a riverboat casino law in 1990 authorizing licenses for ten casinos to open around the state. One of the licenses was guaranteed to East St. Louis, in an effort to help the financially troubled city. The group that would ultimately open the Casino Queen, led by real estate developer

Bill Koman William John Koman (September 16, 1934 – November 1, 2019) was a professional American football linebacker who played in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals. He played ...

, submitted its proposal to the Illinois Gaming Board in January 1992. With no other proposals before the board, Koman's group was awarded the license in May 1992. The Casino Queen opened on June 23, 1993. It was viewed positively by most city officials and residents, as the struggling city desperately needed both a revenue source and employment opportunities for its residents. Casino Queen originally operated on a boat called the White Star One. Construction of a hotel began in 1998. The 157-room hotel, built at a cost of $15 million, opened in January 2000. Changed regulations led to the casino to be moved inland, but still built above a shallow pit of water, in 2007. The move also allowed the casino to add 10,000 additional square feet of gaming space. In 2014, the White Star One was auctioned off and sold for $600,000. Casino Queen has generated over $160 million for the city of East St. Louis between 1993 and 2009. In 2012, Koman and his partners sold the Casino Queen for $170 million to a newly formed

Employee Stock Ownership Plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

(ESOP), which would steer the casino's profits into the retirement accounts of participating employees. In 2014, to pay down debt taken on to finance the purchase, the ESOP sold the real estate of the Casino Queen to

for $140 million, leasing it back for $14 million per year. In 2020, the casino struck a deal with sports betting provider

DraftKings DraftKings is an American daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting company. The company allows users to enter daily and weekly fantasy sports–related contests and win money based on individual player performances in five major American ...

to rebrand the property as ''DraftKings at Casino Queen''. As part of the rebranding, the property will undergo a $10 million renovation that will replace the property's current restaurants and buffet with a full

sportsbook In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, ...

, a new all-day restaurant, and a food court with three new quick-service options. The casino will also be integrated into DraftKings' mobile betting app, and also reached an agreement with

Fairmount Park Racetrack Fairmount Park Racetrack is a horse racing track in Collinsville, Illinois, a part of the St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis metropolitan area. The track hosts Thoroughbred flat racing. It is one of two horse racing venues currently active in Illinois ...

in nearby Collinsville to operate slots and table games on their property, although sports betting competitor

FanDuel FanDuel Group is an American gambling company that offers sportsbook, daily fantasy sports, horse racing, and online casino. The company operates sportsbooks in a number of states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia, as ...

has the track's sports-betting license.

Property information

The casino includes both 1,100 slots and 34 table games in its 38,000 square feet of gaming space. Per Illinois law and unlike neighboring Missouri casinos, it is not open 24 hours a day. Dining options include: the Market Street Buffet, Prime Steakhouse, Sevens, and Deli & Chips. Both a hotel and an RV Park are located on the Casino Queen property.

References

External links

* {{East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis, Illinois Casinos in Illinois Riverboat casinos

History

Property information

See also

References

External links