Illinois: Hollywood Casino Joliet gets approval by city council for Rock Run Crossings relocation

The Joliet City council approved plans last week allowing for the development of the new Hollywood Casino Joliet at Rock Run Crossings. Penn Entertainment said in October that it wanted to start construction on the new casino by late this year when it announced the decision to relocate its existing riverboat casino to the Rock Run Crossings area.

The estimated cost of the project is $185 million. In plans shared last year, the company said the venue is expected to include a modern casino with approximately 800 slots and 45 live table games (including a baccarat room).

The Joliet project will include a Barstool Sportsbook and high-quality bars and restaurants. It will also feature approximately 10,000 square feet of meeting areas and an event center.

The casino would be located next to a 570-unit apartment complex the city approved last year. The gambling venue and apartments fit into a multi-use development plan to create a place to live, work, shop and play within the 309-acre development located near the crossing of Interstates 55 and 80.

Developer Cullinan Properties has described the project as a “super-regional” attraction because of its potential to draw people from Chicago to central Illinois to the location at the interstate crossing, reports Shaw Local.

The only other commercial project announced for the site, however, is a Regal Cinemas movie theater. The theater was announced in 2019, but it is not under construction, and Regal’s parent company went into bankruptcy last year. 

Ultimate plans for Rock Run Crossings include stores, restaurants, hotels and office buildings - none of which have been landed yet, although the casino is likely to have a hotel with it. The council approved preliminary, final and recording plats for the Hollywood Casino - clearing the way for construction - without discussion. 

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk in his State of the City speech last week emphasized the importance of the Rock Run Crossings site, saying it may have kept Hollywood Casino in Joliet. “There was a serious attempt to get Hollywood to leave Joliet and move to other cities,” he said, as per the cited source.

Rock Run Crossings will give Hollywood Casino more exposure and accessibility than it has now at its relatively remote location off Route 6 in what is otherwise an industrial corridor of Joliet. The casino was opened at the site along the Des Plaines river at a time when casinos in Illinois had to be in riverboats. 

Illinois now allows casinos to move off the water. Penn Entertainment is also moving its Hollywood Casino Aurora off the Fox River downtown to another location in that city off Interstate 88.