New $185 million Hollywood Casino Joliet opens, seen as regional destination point

The new Hollywood Casino Joliet opened Monday with fanfare that included a traditional Chinese lion dance and an announcement that the casino has become an official sponsor of the Chicago Bears.

Executives also honored their Joliet roots, recognizing seven employees who have been with the casino since a group of local investors opened it in 1992 as the Empress.

Penn Entertainment, which has owned the Joliet casino since 2005, spent $185 million to build the new land-based casino located near the crossroads of Interstates 55 and 80.

Penn President and CEO Jay Snowden was at the opening ceremony and said the casino reflects “our company’s commitment to the state of Illinois.”

Penn also is building a new Hollywood Casino Aurora, but the Joliet casino opened first.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone for Hollywood Casino Joliet,” casino General Manager Ruben Warren said.

Warren made the announcement that Hollywood Casino has become the official casino sponsor of the Chicago Bears. He also recognized Tom Thayer, a Joliet native who was an offensive lineman for the 1986 Super Bowl Bears, in the audience to join the celebration.

The casino has changed ownership three times and, like all Illinois casinos, has long ago moved away from the floating riverboat format required when gambling was legalized in Illinois in the early 1990s.

The new location marks the Joliet casino’s first move away from its original location along the Des Plaines River.

Instead, the Penn will look toward the two interstates to bring what it hopes to be increased traffic to the casino.

Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy gave a nod to the location and its potential to draw new customers during his remarks at the opening ceremony.

D’Arcy described the casino as “a major attraction for our residents and residents across the region. And, since we’re at the crossroads of Mid-America, probably the whole country will stop here at some point.”

The city of Joliet calls itself the “crossroads of Mid-America” because of the crossing of I-55 and I-80, roads that extend to all four borders of the United States.

The new Hollywood Casino Joliet is designed to appeal to more than gamblers, featuring a half-dozen restaurants away from the casino floor that are accessible to people of all ages.

Penn Entertainment has promoted the restaurants, which include Sorellina by Giada created by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, more than the casino in pre-opening marketing.

The new Hollywood Casino Joliet also features two restaurants and bars on the casino floor, which customer Ron Yergovich of Schaumburg noted is an improvement over the old format.

“It’s nice having restaurants inside the casino,” Yergovich said.

The added dining features, both on and off the casino floor, are an update that may have been overdue for the casino.

“There were no restaurants, no food,” Jean Marie Oliver of Peotone said of the previous Hollywood Casino Joliet.

The casino did have food offerings. But Oliver said they paled in comparison to the increased emphasis on restaurants seen at other casinos.

Oliver, like about a hundred other customers, waited to get inside the new Hollywood Casino Joliet on Monday morning while the opening ceremony was conducted inside.

Her husband, Jeff Oliver, described the opening as “a rough start” given what he said was confusing announcements on when customers could get in.

The casino officially opened to the public at 4 p.m. But customers with Penn Players status were let in early at various times based on the level of their status.

“They should have put something on the internet saying this is how we’re doing it on opening day,” said Michael Chu of Downers Grove, who was among those waiting outside in the heat to get inside the casino complex.

Eager casino customers could be seen leaning over the walls of the new parking deck as they awaited their opportunity to get inside.

Whatever hiccups may have occurred on opening day, the employees who have been with the casino since it opened 23 years ago had a long-term perspective on the latest development.

“We’ve come a long way from the riverboat to this,” said Mary Gallaga, one of the original employees recognized at the ceremony. “It’s changed a lot and for the better.”