Latest Casino and Gambling News, Sports betting, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Sports betting is booming in Illinois. For the month of September, the state was able to generate $305.2 million bets, which pushed Illinois to the number four spot in the US when it comes to the industry. Walker's Bluff Casino Update. THE RESORT AT WALKER'S BLUFF PROJECT 326 Vermont Rd Carterville, IL 62918 (618) 956-9900. Under the Rebuild Illinois Law enacted in June 2019 a new casino license is allocated for the Resort at Walker's Bluff in Williamson County, Illinois. Under new Tier 3 restrictions implemented in the state of Illinois beginning Friday, casinos and several other cultural institutions, including museums, will be required to close their doors amid.
Gov. Pritzker makes announcement
Riverboat casinos in Illinois could be back in action on January 15 after Governor J.B. Pritzker announced that all 11 regions in the state can soon move out of Tier 3 restrictions, subject to COVID-19-related metrics.
Gov. Pritzker posted a video tweet of the January 6 press briefing, which also featured an update from the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Dr Ngozi Ezike.
The good news for gamblers in the Prairie State comes after Illinois emerged from Thanksgiving without a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Reasons to be optimistic
Illinois’s Tier 3 restrictions came into effect on November 19, shuttering performing arts and movie theatres as well as indoor sports recreation centers. Casinos and gaming venues, which were already operating under Tier 2 mitigation procedures that included closing at 11pm and a 25% capacity limit, were also on the November closure list. Gambling facilities reapply these measures once they move back to Tier 2.
early signs that some regions have made real progress”
In his Wednesday news briefing, Gov. Pritzker said that, on the advice of Dr Ezike and other infectious disease experts in the state, it would be “unwise to downgrade any region […] while in the holiday season.”
As Illinois lifts Tier 3 restrictions across its 11 regions on January 15 subject to meeting set metrics, state officials will be on the lookout for any signs of an increase in infection rates following a post-festive season incubation period. Pritzker, however, said he was “cautiously optimistic as there are some early signs that some regions have made real progress.”
Illinois Casino News Today
Welcome return to business
For the Land of Lincoln’s ten riverboat casinos, the potential January 15 reopening date signals a welcome return to business, particularly for Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming, which operate three riverboat casinos apiece.
Before the full November shutdown order came into effect, figures published by the Illinois Gaming Board revealed that the riverboat casinos posted an October 2020 revenue of $16.5m. This was just a third of the $168.4m that the state’s 37,459 video gaming terminals (VGTs) made in the same month, before they too had to switch off under Tier 3 regulations. The municipal tax that VGTs contributed to state coffers in October alone was over half the revenue made by the riverboat casinos.
© Bloomberg via Getty ImagesCash and dice sit on a craps table at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Friday, July 16, 2010. Three casinos in Eastern Pennsylvania, including the Sands, added live game tables to their casino floors this week in an effort to attract more gamblers from New Jersey. Photographer: Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Under new Tier 3 restrictions implemented in the state of Illinois beginning Friday, casinos and several other cultural institutions, including museums, will be required to close their doors amid a surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
According to the new restrictions, laid out by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health Tuesday, all gaming facilities and casinos will be required to close their doors beginning on Friday.
Indoor recreation centers will also be required to close. Movie theaters, performing arts theaters and indoor museums will also be required to close beginning Friday, according to the governor.
Facilities that can offer outdoor recreational activities will be allowed to remain open for that purpose, but occupancy of those facilities will be limited to 25% under new guidelines issued by Pritzker and the IDPH.
Illinois Gaming News
The restrictions come as the state tries to contain a rapid increase in the spread of coronavirus, with more than 12,000 new cases reported Tuesday alone. The state is also seeing a dramatic spike in the number of hospitalizations related to the virus, with IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike saying that several hospitals in several portions of the state are reporting that they are out of hospital beds to treat coronavirus patients.
In addition to facility closures, other businesses will also have new restrictions put into place, including occupancy limits and a variety of other rules. Bars and restaurants will still be closed to indoor service, and outdoor gatherings will be limited to just six people, according to the new rules.
Are Illinois Casinos Open Today
Gatherings at hotels and other meeting places will also be prohibited under the new guidelines, which you can find here.