Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois quickly finds its feet on dry land

The new venue was the third-best earner out of Illinois’ 17 casinos in July

Its landside move has seen the $360m Hollywood Casino Aurora in Illinois almost double the size of its business in its first full month, with large increases in revenue and footfall.

The former riverboat, which opened as a land-based casino on June 24, generated $17.4m in revenue and attracted almost 156,000 guests, making it the third-best earner out of the state’s 17 casinos in July.

“The business has essentially doubled in the first full month,” Jay Snowden, CEO and President of Penn Entertainment, said. “While still early, it has been showing strong growth KPIs, approximately doubling admissions, slot volumes, table volumes, and non-gaming revenues versus prior year levels. Our hotel is also attracting higher-worth customers, with our rated guests generating 21 per cent higher average daily worth when staying at the property. The property is also driving trial and expanding our reach in the market, as 20 per cent of our guests since opening have been new to Hollywood Aurora. Additionally, 25 per cent of our guests since opening were reactivated customers.”

Up next in the pipeline for PENN will be the relocation of Hollywood Council Bluffs, which is expected to open in 2028. This project will convert a first-generation riverboat casino license into a modern and more efficient land-based facility that will connect seamlessly with our existing 444-room hotel.

Snowdon added: “We believe the new property will greatly enhance our competitive positioning in the greater Omaha market. The project has an anticipated construction budget of $180m-$200m. That budget, the programming, and the design will be very similar to the new Hollywood Joliet in Illinois.”