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 ...
in
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.
See also
*
List of Caesars Entertainment properties
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corpora ...
*
List of casinos in Illinois
This is a list of casinos in Illinois.
List of casinos
Gallery
Casino Queen.jpg, Casino Queen
See also
*List of casinos in the United States
*List of casino hotels
References
External links
{{Illinois
Casinos in Illinois,
Lis ...
References
External links
*
{{Caesars Entertainment
Casinos in Illinois
1993 establishments in Illinois
Caesars Entertainment
Riverboat casinos
Buildings and structures in Joliet, Illinois