In Illinois, Argosy Casino Alton recently celebrated its 30th year on the Mississippi Riverfront. The venue opened September 24, 1991 as the Alton Belle Casino, with more than 450 passengers aboard. Former state Rep. Jim McPike pulled the first arm of a slot machine and stated, “The Belle will
breathe new life into Alton.” The first riverboat to offer legal gambling in Illinois, the 3-deck, 600-passenger boat with 296 slots and 22 table games, actually cruised the Mississippi River.
The facility, the Alton Belle II, still is an actual boat that replaced the original in 1993. Under Illinois law, it cruised for one hour daily. Seven years later, state law changed to allow casinos to be permanently moored.
The Alton Belle team has weathered two historic floods in 1993 and 2019. During the first flood, the Mississippi River at Alton reached 42.72 feet, more than twice the 21-foot flood state. But the casino still was cruising the river. Sections of the Alton business district remained under water for weeks but the Alton Belle built long walkways that allowed guests and employees to reach the boat from the shore; some team members would paddle over to work.
During the 2019 flood, the casino was unreachable, as the river crested at 39.01 feet on June 9, 2019. Due to the flood, the Argosy Casino Alton closed for 43 days in May and June, finally reopening June 22.
The casino also closed briefly in December 2008 when a cable securing a barge snapped under pressure from ice. The barge broke loose from its moorings and struck the casino’s employee cafeteria.
On March 12, 2020, Argosy Casino Alton became the second Illinois casino to offer sports wagering. But just four days later, Governor J.B. Pritzker mandated that all Illinois casinos suspend operations due to Covid-19. They remained shuttered for most of 2020. Increased safety and health mitigations finally allowed the Alton casino to reopen January 23, 2021, with limited hours and services.
The casino also has faced new and growing competition from the hundreds of gambling terminals throughout Madison County, plus FanDuel’s major investment into Fairmount Park racetrack in Collinsville last year.
Still, amid the pandemic, in August Argosy Casino Alton posted 35,101 admissions and $2,988,033 in total adjusted gross receipts; $369,002 went to the state and $184,501 to the city of Alton. So far in 2021, the casino has recorded 236,338 admissions and $20,966,628 in total adjusted gross receipts; $2,569,338 went to the state and $1,284,669 to Alton.
Director of Marketing Rashad Wilson said the casino plans to open a new sports lounge on the second floor by the end of the month.
Currently the casino offers more than 800 gaming devices and 12 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, three-card poker and Texas Hold’em. Its popular Hop House features selections from local breweries and sandwiches, appetizers, salads and dinner plates.
