He predicted the Alton Belle would bring $3.5 million a year in taxes and tourist spending while creating 537 jobs.įive riverboats are currently operating in Iowa on the Mississippi between Ft. now believes it will generate important revenue for the city. Once an opponent of riverboat gambling, Alton Mayor Ed Voumerd Jr.

But John Reichert, the Alton Belle`s marketing director, said customers also would be brought in from the Chicago area by bus, train and plane. Louis area, a 20-minute drive from Alton. Most of the gamblers for the Alton Belle are expected to come from the St. Wisconsin legislators also are considering permitting gambling on Lake Michigan. Licenses have been awarded for the Des Plaines River in downtown Joliet, a site 3 miles downstream near Channahon, and on the Fox River in Aurora.Ĭasino boat gambling is barred on Lake Michigan, but some state legislators and suburban politicians would like to change that and allow the gaming dollars to flow even farther north. Pritzker signed legislation allowing Illinois’ 10 riverboat casinos to move operations to dry land, effectively tapping out this brief and quirky footnote to our state history.Illinois` second gambling boat is expected to open for business on the Illinois River in Peoria in November.Ī year from now, the state hopes to have three more boats operating in the Chicago area. Riverboat gambling tax revenue peaked at $699 million in 2005. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, for example, dug a shallow pit on dry land, filled it with water, and built a casino over it. The new law, however, allowed an easy work-around. George Ryan signed a new Riverboat Gambling Act, which allowed gambling to continue on riverboats while they remained dockside.

The next year, it raked in $54 million, surpassing horseracing revenue. In the first year, riverboat gambling brought in $8 million in tax revenue. The three-deck, 600-passenger boat held 296 slot machines and 22 gambling tables. The first license went to Alton, which launched Illinois’ first riverboat casino, the Alton Belle, on Sept. Riverboat casinos could operate only on water and gambling was permitted only after the boats left the dock. The newly created Illinois Gaming Board granted 10 licenses, giving preferential treatment to economically depressed areas outside the Chicago area. A steamboat blasted its whistle while a calliope played “ Happy Days are Here Again.” With a blackjack table as a desk, the signing ceremony took place at the Peoria Boatworks. James Thompson signed the Riverboat Gambling Act, laying odds on economic development and tourism. Illinoisans have bet on horseracing since 1927, purchased Lottery tickets since 1974 and gambled for non-profit charities since 1986.īut on Feb.

Alton belle casino careers