Penn Entertainment Sets Opening for $360 Million Hollywood Casino Aurora in Chicagoland
Posted on: March 20, 2026, 08:18h.
Last updated on: March 20, 2026, 08:18h.
- Penn Entertainment plans to open Hollywood Casino Aurora on June 24
- The landside casino replaces the long-floating Hollywood Aurora riverboat on the Fox River
- Penn and its landlord remain bullish on their Midwest casinos
Penn Entertainment is nearing completion of its $360 million investment in Illinois to open a new casino and entertainment destination in Chicagoland.
The Pennsylvania-based regional gaming specialist says it will welcome guests to the Hollywood Casino Aurora on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The all-new brick-and-mortar property replaces Penn’s long-floating riverboat on the Fox River.
The land-based casino is about 3.5 air miles northeast of the riverboat, near the Chicago Premium Outlets and Interstate 88. Hollywood Aurora stands just west of N. Farnsworth Ave. at Bilter Rd.
“We are now months away from opening another premium entertainment destination in the greater Chicago region,” said Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment.
The new Hollywood Casino Aurora includes more than 1,200 gaming positions, inclusive of slot machine and table game chairs, plus a retail sportsbook. The destination additionally features a 226-room hotel, 12,000-square-foot event center, 1,700 parking spaces, a full-service spa, and a variety of restaurants and bars highlighted by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis’ Sorella by Giada.
Midwest Makeovers
Penn Entertainment and its landlord, Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI), remain bullish on the Midwest. Along with Aurora, the companies invested $185 million to relocate their Joliet riverboat to an inland property. The new Hollywood Casino Joliet opened last August, near the I-80/I-55 interchange.
We are thrilled to follow the successful rollout of Hollywood Casino Joliet last summer with another new land-based property, strengthening our overall retail portfolio in the Midwest and deepening our roots in the community,” Snowden added.
Penn is also almost finished with a 203-room hotel project at Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio. The $100 million hotel tower is to open on June 12.
For the Aurora undertaking, GLPI bankrolled $225 million of the $360 million project. The City of Aurora is additionally contributing $21 million to the project on the belief that the new casino will generate more jobs, local taxes, and economic activity. Penn is covering the $114 million balance.
The Illinois Gaming Board will work with Penn officials to relocate the Aurora riverboat’s casino operations to the new land-based gaming floor as the opening date nears. For now, it’s business as usual at the riverboat, which has about 1,000 slots and 20 table games.
Hollywood Illinois Operations
Along with its two Hollywood casinos in Illinois, Penn operates the Argosy Casino Alton near St. Louis. Combined, the three properties generated 2025 gross gaming revenue of $239.8 million.
Penn’s $239.8 million in GGR from the three casinos represented a 12.3% market share of the Indiana casino market. Statewide GGR last year was $1.94 billion.
Rivers Casino Des Moines remained the dominant operator, with GGR of $503.1 million. Hollywood Joliet ($102.9 million) and Hollywood Aurora ($101.7 million) ranked Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, in the 17-casino market.
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