Harrah's Joliet 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 e ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362. Hist ...

, outside

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, operated by Caesars Entertainment. It has 1,138

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s, 204 hotel rooms, and 4 restaurants.

History

The city began a downtown revitalization effort called Joliet City Center in 1990. The plan called for a greater emphasis on the

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

riverfront, including the construction of a slip for riverboat gambling, which had been legalized by the state earlier that year. Early discussions were held between Joliet and Harrah's, operator of casinos in Nevada and Atlantic City, but it was Missouri hotel developer John Q. Hammons who moved forward and was awarded the gaming license. Hammons then brought Harrah's on board to operate the business and own an 80 percent share. Hammons' stake was initially to be financed by Harrah's, but this led to concern from the Illinois Gaming Board that Hammons was "selling" the license, so Hammons used his own money and outside funding sources instead. Harrah's Joliet launched its first boat on May 4, 1993, a 210-foot yacht named the Northern Star, with 500 slot machines and 40 table games. A second vessel with a more traditional paddleboat look, the Southern Star, was added the following January. A $29-million hotel was added in 1999, with 204 rooms on 11 floors. After state law was changed to allow riverboat casinos to remain permanently docked, instead of cruising every two hours, Harrah's replaced its boats in 2001 with two joined barges, with 40,000 square feet of gaming space with 1,138 slot machines and 31 table games. In October 2017, Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah's) transferred its 80 percent ownership stake in the property to

Vici Properties Vici Properties Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in New York City. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. It owns ...

as part of a

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Characte ...

; Caesars continued to operate Harrah's Joliet under a lease agreement.

References

External links

* {{Caesars Entertainment Casinos in Illinois 1993 establishments in Illinois Caesars Entertainment Riverboat casinos Buildings and structures in Joliet, Illinois

History

See also

References

External links