Casino revenue in Illinois took a slight downturn in November even though an 11th facility opened in the state.
Illinois gambling at the state’s casinos recorded a combined $103,962,512 last month. That worked out to $77.27 million revenue from electronic gaming devices (EGDs) and $26.7 million from table games.
That total was a 4.7% decline from the October revenue of $109.13 million ($80.68 million from EGDs and $28.45 million from table games).
The November numbers were the lowest in the state since February, according to the Illinois Gaming Board figures reported on its website.
New Temporary Rockford Casino Opens
The Land of Lincoln welcomed a new casino option in November, albeit only for EGDs.
A temporary Hard Rock gambling establishment opened in Rockford on Nov. 9, at 610 N. Bell School Road. Hard Rock says it will operate the casino for two years while plans for a permanent Rockford casino proceed. The original target opening date was October for the temporary Rockford casino.
The 20,000-square-foot facility recorded 41,637 admissions for November and took in $4.146 million in revenue from EGDs. That figure was higher than four more established casinos statewide made in November even though the Rockford facility was only open for 22 days during the month.
At this time there are no Illinois casino online options, though folks can bet on sports if they pre-register at a brick-and-mortar casino.
Breaking Down Illinois Casino Numbers
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the largest Illinois casino at 43,687 square feet, led the state in AGR at $40.07 million last month. Rivers pulled in $24.4 million in EGD revenue and $15.68 million from table games. The facility had 216,453 admissions for the month, almost triple the next highest-ranking casino (Grand Victoria, with 71,488).
Grand Victoria, in Elgin, was second in November revenue at $11.96 million, followed by Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel with $11.37 million.
The rest of the state’s casinos were, in order of revenue: Hollywood Casino Aurora ($7.71 million), Hollywood Casino Joliet ($6.97 million), DraftKings at Casino Queen ($6.25 million), Harrah’s Metropolis ($4.64 million), Par-A-Dice ($4.80 million), Bally’s Quad Cities ($3.44 million) and Argosy Alton ($2.59 million).
The state’s tax share was $27.77 million; the combined local share of taxes was $5.9 million.
Illinois Sports Betting Sets Records
There are no numbers in yet for Illinois sports betting for November and there won’t be for a few weeks. But October continued a record-breaking trend seen around the nation in states with legal sports wagering markets.
Sports betting in IL added up to $840 million in October, smashing the state record of $633.6 million set in March.
October saw more than a dozen state records fall around the nation. New Jersey recorded a sports betting handle of $1.3 billion for a new national high-water mark, and Nevada surpassed 10 figures for the first time at $1.1 billion.
