Illinois Casino Numbers For Waukegan And Danville A Mixed Bag

Recent revenue figures show it has been a mixed bag of performance numbers, so far, for the two newest Illinois casinos that both opened in 2023.

The Temporary by American Place opened in Waukegan on Feb. 27 to become the 12th casino in Illinois.

The Golden Nugget Casino Danville became the state’s 13th casino when it opened on May 27.

The most recent Illinois Gaming Board casino revenue figures are now available through June and the news is considerably better for the casino in Waukegan than the one in Danville.

Waukegan casino ranks third in attendance, sixth in revenue

PlayIllinois took a look at the year-to-date casino numbers from the IGB and came up with an average for total adjusted gross revenue and attendance for all 13 physical casinos.

For its first four months of operation, The Temporary, which PlayIllinois reviewed shortly after opening, ranks third in average monthly attendance (70,107) and sixth in revenue (over $7.5 million). Not too shabby for a temporary facility.

Danville casino dead last in revenue, 11th in attendance

Over in Danville, after just one month of operation, the Golden Nugget Casino is dead last in average monthly revenue ($2.45 million) and 11th in attendance (36,591).

Though, keep in mind, the Danville facility is the smallest casino in the state at just under 19,500 square feet. Meanwhile, the Waukegan gambling hall is the second largest casino in Illinois at 70,000 square feet. Only the state’s leading casino — Rivers Casino in Des Plaines — is larger at 78,500 square feet.

Illinois casinos ranked by average monthly gross adjusted revenue in 2023:

Rivers Casino — $45.5 million
Grand Victoria Casino — $12.6 million
Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel — $11 million
Hollywood Casino Aurora — $8.3 million
Hollywood Casino Joliet — $7.7 million
The Temporary by American Place — $7.5 million
DraftKings at Casino Queen — $6.8 million
Hard Rock Rockford — $5.6 million
Harrah’s Metropolis Casino — $5.5 million
Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino — $5.46 million
Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel — $5 million
Argosy Casino Alton — $2.9 million
Golden Nugget Danville — $2.45 million

Illinois casinos ranked by average monthly attendance in 2023:

Rivers Casino — 251,700
Grand Victoria Casino — 77,578
The Temporary by American Place — 70,107
Hollywood Casino Aurora — 69,786
DraftKings at Casino Queen — 68295
Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel — 60,893
Bally’s Quad Cities Casino & Hotel — 59,603
Hollywood Casino Joliet — 56,174
Hard Rock Rockford — 49,845
Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino — 37,024
Golden Nugget Danville — 36,591
Harrah’s Metropolis Casino — 35,911
Argosy Casino Alton — 34,073

Year-to-date Illinois casino numbers

Meanwhile, the entire Illinois casino sector continues its trend of a post-pandemic rebound.

Year-to-date through June, the 13 physical casinos in the Land of Lincoln have, collectively, produced adjusted gross revenue of more than $731 million. That’s the highest revenue since 2014.

Year-over-year, revenue is up 12% over 2022’s AGR of more than $650 million and up and 10.4% since 2019’s six-month total of more than $662 million. That was the most recent year prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Casino attendance is at its highest level in five years. The 2023 casino attendance of more than 5.1 million is the best since a little more than 5.4 million people visited a an Illinois casino in the first six months of 2018.

Though, keep in mind, there are 13 casinos now in Illinois and only 10 in most of the previous years.

Illinois casinos have produce $164 million in total taxes in 2023

What does all this mean for the people of Illinois? Decent tax revenue.

Total casino taxes of more than $164 million in the first six months of 2023 is the most since 2019’s total of just nearly $178 million for the same period.

Though, keep in mind that the casino industry pales in comparison with the video gaming terminal sector which has produced nearly three times the tax revenue in 2023 to date. Nearly 46,000 VGTs at 8,331 businesses across Illinois have produced 2023 tax revenue of nearly $493 million through June.

The state share of casino taxes was more than $122.5 million through June. The local share was nearly $41.7 million.