Aurora casino

The City of Aurora announced today that construction has begun on the new $360 million Hollywood Casino Aurora on the city’s south side. The casino will replace the casino currently located downtown on the river.

The new casino resort is located at the Farnsworth Avenue & I-88 intersection, across from the Chicago Premium Outlets.

According to planners, the new casino resort will boast a modern, best-in-class casino with approximately 900 slots, and 50 live table games;  a best-in-class hotel with approximately 200 hotel rooms;  a 10,000 square foot event center; a full-service spa; and high-quality bars and restaurants.

The city expects the project to create 700 construction jobs and an equal amount of full-time jobs once complete.

Aurora’s city council had previously approved a plan which calls for the city to raise $50 million in general obligation bonds for development of the new site. The bonds will be repaid from property taxes paid by the casino. Any shortfall of taxes relative to bond payments will be covered by the developers, Penn Entertainment, a publicly-traded company.

Illinois is home to 12 casinos, more than 8,300 licensed video gaming establishments and nine sportsbooks. Casino gambling, video gaming and sports wagering generated more than $1.4 billion in tax revenue to the state and local communities in calendar year 2022.

Construction is expected to take approximately 24 months.