Penn Entertainment opened Hollywood Casino and Hotel Aurora, converting a former riverboat gambling site into a land-based resort complex that represents a $360m investment in the Chicago-area market.
The property, located in Aurora, Illinois, employs approximately 700 people and required roughly the same number of construction workers to build. It follows Penn's landside transition in Joliet, completed last summer, which brings cumulative Chicagoland reinvestment past $500m since 2023.
Jay Snowden, CEO and President of Penn Entertainment, said: "Together with our landside move in Joliet last summer, we have reinvested over $500m in the Chicagoland market over the last three years, resulting in more jobs, meaningful state and local tax revenue, and further enhancing the region as a must-visit destination."
Rafael Verde, Senior VP of Regional Operations for Penn, said: "Today marks an exciting new chapter for Hollywood Casino and Hotel Aurora, made possible through support from the city of Aurora, the Illinois Gaming Board, and all of our partners, including the hundreds of tradesmen and women who built this incredible new property from the ground up."
The gaming floor spans more than 1,000 slot and video poker machines and over 50 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat. A retail sportsbook with betting tellers and wagering kiosks is also on site.
The property's food and beverage offering includes Sorella by Giada, an Italian steakhouse developed in partnership with chef Giada De Laurentiis, and Boulevard Food & Drink Hall, operated by a group led by James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain. Additional dining outlets include Red Lotus Asian Kitchen, a sushi counter and a sports bar seating 163 patrons.
The seven-story hotel adds 226 rooms and suites to the Aurora area. An on-site spa offers massage, hair and beauty services across 18 dedicated stations and treatment rooms.
Illinois Gaming Board officials, state legislators and local dignitaries attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony ahead of the property's public opening.
The new property replaces a riverboat casino that had operated on the Illinois shores of the Fox River since 1993, ending more than three decades of water-based gaming at that location
