Rush Street Gaming and Churchill Downs, joint operators of Rivers Casino Des Plaines near Chicago recently announced an $87 million expansion, to be constructed between the existing casino building and a recently enlarged parking facility. The expansion will make the property the state’s largest casino. Greg Carlin, Rush Street chief executive officer and co-founder, said, “With this proposed expansion, we will be able to offer our guests more of the entertainment and dining options they enjoy, additional gaming opportunities and a long-desired poker room.”
The expansion plans are subject to regulatory approval from city of Des Plaines and the Illinois Gaming Board. If approved, construction would begin this spring and be completed in spring 2022.
The project would include two stories covering 78,000 square feet. The first floor would include a new restaurant and an expanded gaming floor offering 2,000 gaming positions, making Rivers Casino the first in Illinois to achieve the maximum allowable number. Table games will increase by 70 percent to 260 and slots by 439, or 48 percent. That will leave 26 unused available gaming positions.
The second floor will feature a 24-table poker room, 10,000 square-foot ballroom for private events and live entertainment and a slots area.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines was the first Illinois casino to have a land-based gaming floor. Its BetRivers sportsbook was the first retail sportsbook and the first to offer mobile sports betting.
Rivers will pay Illinois $24 million in gaming position licensing fees in June. The property is located near O’Hare Airport, about 20 miles from downtown Chicago.
