Rivers Casino (Des Plaines)
Rivers Casino is a casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, United States, a northern suburb of Chicago. It is minutes away from O'Hare International Airport. Rivers Casino opened on July 18, 2011. It is majority-owned by Churchill Downs Inc., and managed by its minority owner, Rush Street Gaming.
| Rivers Casino | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Des Plaines, Illinois, United States |
| Address | 3000 S River Road |
| Opening date | July 18, 2011 |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Churchill Downs Inc. (62%) Rush Street Gaming (38%) |
| Public transit access |  Pace |
| Website | riverscasino |
The building sits above a few inches of water in a shallow pit. This was created for the casino to comply with state law, intended to legalize riverboat gambling.[1]
History
In 2008, the Illinois Gaming Board awarded the state's 10th and last casino license to Midwest Gaming and Entertainment LLC, a group led by Neil Bluhm,[1] to build a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) casino on approximately 21 acres (8.5 ha) adjacent to the Tri-State Tollway at the northwest corner of Devon Avenue and Des Plaines River Road. Des Plaines was awarded the gaming license in 2008. The city approved zoning in early 2010. The casino opened in July 2011 as Rivers Casino.
In 2019, Churchill Downs Inc., which owned the nearby Arlington Park racetrack, purchased a 62 percent stake in the casino from Bluhm and his partners for $407 million.[2][3]
References
- Chicago Tribune: "Des Plaines casino goes Vegas to corner upscale Chicago market" by Jennifer Delgado and Robert McCoppin July 15, 2011
- Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Churchill Downs Inc. February 27, 2019. p. 5 – via EDGAR.
- "Churchill Downs Incorporated completes purchase of stake in Rivers Casino Des Plaines in Illinois" (Press release). Churchill Downs Inc. March 5, 2019 – via EDGAR.