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The Casino Queen is a riverboat casino located near the Mississippi River in East St. Louis, Illinois, just across the river from downtown St. Louis. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by an employee-owned management company.

History[edit]

The Internet's largest casino directory and gaming supersite. Casino maps, news, reviews, driving directions and much more. Trusted by players and industry professionals for over 10 years. Where is Casino Queen Hotel located? Casino Queen Hotel is located at 200 South Front Street, 1.3 miles from the center of East Saint Louis. Malcolm W Martin Memorial Park is the closest landmark to Casino Queen.

Illinois enacted a riverboat casino law in 1990 authorizing licenses for ten casinos to open around the state.^[1] One of the licenses was guaranteed to East St. Louis, in an effort to help the financially troubled city.^[2][3] The group that would ultimately open the Casino Queen, led by real estate developer Bill Koman, submitted its proposal to the Illinois Gaming Board in January 1992.^[4] With no other proposals before the board, Koman's group was awarded the license in May 1992.^[5]

The Casino Queen opened on June 23, 1993.^[6] It was viewed positively by most city officials and residents, as the struggling city desperately needed both a revenue source and employment opportunities for its residents.^[7] Casino Queen originally operated on a boat called the White Star One.

Construction of a hotel began in 1998.^[8] The 157-room hotel, built at a cost of $15 million, opened in January 2000.^[9]

Changed regulations led to the casino to be moved inland, but still built above a shallow pit of water, in 2007. The move also allowed the casino to add 10,000 additional square feet of gaming space. In 2014, the White Star One was auctioned off and sold for $600,000.^[10] Casino Queen has generated over $160 million for the city of East St. Louis between 1993 and 2009.^[11]

In 2012, Koman and his partners sold the Casino Queen for $170 million to a newly formed Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which would steer the casino's profits into the retirement accounts of participating employees.^[12] In 2014, to pay down debt taken on to finance the purchase, the ESOP sold the real estate of the Casino Queen to Gaming and Leisure Properties for $140 million, leasing it back for $14 million per year.^[13][14]

In 2020, the casino struck a deal with sports betting provider DraftKings to rebrand the property as DraftKings at Casino Queen.^[15] As part of the rebranding, Sevens sports bar will be gutted and re-built as a full sportsbook, and the casino will be integrated into DraftKings' mobile betting app.^[15]

Property information[edit]

The casino includes both 1,100 slots and 34 table games in its 38,000 square feet of gaming space.^[16] Per Illinois law and unlike neighboring Missouri casinos, it is not open 24 hours a day.^[17]

Dining options include: the Market Street Buffet, Prime Steakhouse, Sevens, and Deli & Chips.

Both a hotel and an RV Park are located on the Casino Queen property.

References[edit]

1. ^Robert Kelly (February 8, 1990). 'Dice to be rollin' on the river'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
2. ^Kathleen Best (September 11, 1990). 'East side casino assured: E. St. Louis wins right to riverboat'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
3. ^Lynn Sweet (July 3, 1990). '10 vie for 5 riverboat gambling licenses'. Chicago Sun-Times – via NewsBank.
4. ^'William Koman seeks license for casino boat in E. St. Louis'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 3, 1992 – via NewsBank.
5. ^Patrick E. Gauen (May 15, 1992). 'Illinois backs casino at E. St. Louis site'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
6. ^Margaret Gillerman (June 24, 1993). 'Casino Queen, a city's dreamboat, sails at last'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
7. ^Brett Pulley (21 July 1998). 'Casino Changes the Fortune Of a Hard-Luck Illinois City'. The New York Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
8. ^'Mayor says hotel signals renewal of East St. Louis'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 18, 1998 – via NewsBank.
9. ^Denise Hollinshed (January 4, 2000). 'New hotel at Casino Queen opens for business with views of St. Louis skyline'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via NewsBank.
10. ^Robert Patrick (4 April 2014). 'Old Casino Queen yields $600,000 at auction'. St Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
11. ^'Gambling on the future of East St Louis'. Lindenwood University. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
12. ^Tim Logan (December 28, 2012). 'Employee-owners hope to reverse Casino Queen's fortunes'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
13. ^Lisa Brown (December 10, 2013). 'REIT buying Casino Queen real estate for $140 million'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
14. ^'Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. closes acquisition of the real estate assets related to the Casino Queen in East St. Louis for $140 million' (Press release). Gaming and Leisure Properties. January 23, 2014. Retrieved 2020-07-26 – via GlobeNewswire.
15. ^ ^ab'In deal with sports wagering firm, Casino Queen rebrands as DraftKings at Casino Queen'. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
16. ^'Casino Queen'. Clayco. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
17. ^'IL Says Casino Queen Can't Stay Open 24 Hours'. St Louis Public Radio. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Illinois is in the process of changing the laws surrounding gambling in the state, both on and offline.

While online casinos are still deemed illegal in the state, online sportsbooks have just started operating on mobile and desktop devices. If online sports betting does well for the state'seconomy, there is huge potential to expand online gambling in IL.

There are different ways you can gamble in the state offline, including racetracks and river casino boats.

The new bill that was introduced in 2019 permitted land-based casinos to start operating in specific areas in IL, however, none have been able to open their doors just yet. This is due to thedelay caused by the Illinois Gaming Board who has yet to give a response to the riverboats that have applied for the license.

The vetting process has now taken a year, with the IGB expected to make a decision in the next few weeks. There are currently nine casino applicants.

Read more about the gambling laws in IL, the current status of land-based casinos, and when you can expect to be playing at an IL online casino, in our guide below.

Illinois Online Casinos

Although Illinois has a long tradition with some great riverboat casinos and a long history with gambling, it has not legalized online casinos just yet. There have been discussions oflegalizing online casinos, but it has not yet been approved by the senate.

A bill that was introduced in 2019 did legalize online sports betting and saw FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetRivers launch online sportsbooks in the state. It also allowed riverboat casinosto start applying for licenses to operate on land. But we'll get into that later.

For now, if you want to play at an online casino, you'll need to take a trip up to nearby Michigan.

But, you can still register with a legal online casino while you're in Illinois. That means you can get the casino's bonus offers or deposit, and then play whenever you're in stateswhere it's legal.

Land-Based Casinos in Illinois

Unlike Mississippi casinos, not all of the casinos in Illinois are open 24 hours, and Illinois casino laws limit the number of gaming licenses to 10. Up until2019, all casinos in IL had to operate as a riverboat casino.

Now, riverboat casinos are in the process of purchasing licenses to be able to operate on land.

There are five casinos in Illinois near Chicago, two casinos towards the center of the state, and three casinos in southern Illinois.

See our Chicago casinos section for more details on the five properties, as well as details on some casinos in Indiana that are within a short drive of Chicago.

All casinos in Illinois are non-smoking and, unless otherwise noted, all offer slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and three-card poker.

Some Illinois casinos also offer: let it ride, baccarat, mini-baccarat, poker, Ultimate Texas hold 'em, Caribbean stud poker, Mississippi stud, pai gow poker, and four card poker.

The payback percentages on electronic gaming machines at all Illinois casinos are released as a matter of public record. Just click here to see a list of slot machine payback statistics for all Illinois casinos.

Types of Casinos in Illinois

There are two types of casino in IL; riverboats and pari-mutuel. While riverboat casinos are in the middle of a lengthy process trying to obtain a license to operate as a land-basedcasino, pari-mutuel betting has started to fade into the background.

There have been proposals on bringing slot games into the racetracks, however, have continuously been turned down.

Riverboat Casinos

All of the casinos in Illinois are riverboat casinos. Illinois was the second state to legalize riverboat gambling and the boats began operating in September 1991 with the launching of thefirst boat: the Alton Belle.

Seven of the riverboat casinos in Illinois are either on boats or on docked barges. These Illinois casinos remain dockside and do not cruise. The other three casinos: Rivers in DesPlaines, Jumer's in Rock Island, and the Casino Queen in East. St. Louis, are all land-based casinos.

Queen Casino East St Louis

Interestingly, however, they all qualify as being riverboat casinos because they are all built over a shallow pit filled with a few inches of water.

Pari-mutuel Casinos

Horse racing has been extremely popular in IL, especially in the 1930s to 80s. Unfortunately, the industry doesn't have nearly as close to as big of a turnout at the tracks today.

Still, there are three major horse tracks in Illinois:

• Fairmount Park - Collinsville
• Arlington Park - Arlington Heights
• Hawthorne Race Course - Cicero

All three tracks offer thoroughbred racing and stream every race to viewers across the United States.

Dog racing is illegal in the state of Illinois.

List of Land-Based Casinos in Illinois

River Queen Casino East Stl

Ameristar East Chicago

• 777 Aldis Ave, East Chicago, IN 46312
• 1 (219) 378-3000
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Argosy Casino Alton

• 1 Piasa St, Alton, IL 62002
• 1 (618) 474-7500
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em

Blue Chip Casino & Hotel

• 777 Blue Chip Dr, Michigan City, IN 46360
• 1 (219) 879-7711
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold 'em, Poker

Casino Queen

• 200 S Front St, East St Louis, IL 62201
• 1 (618) 874-5000
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em

Grand Victoria Casino Elgin

• 250 S Grove Ave, Elgin, IL 60120
• 1 (847) 468-7000
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Poker

Harrah's Joliet

• 151 N Joliet St, Joliet, IL 60432
• 1 (815) 740-7800
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Harrah's Metropolis

• 100 E Front St, Metropolis, IL 62960
• 1 (618) 524-2628
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud

Hollywood Casino Aurora

• 1 W New York St, Aurora, IL 60506
• 1 (630) 801-7000
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Hollywood Casino Joliet

• 777 Hollywood Blvd, Joliet, IL 60436
• 1 (815) 744-9400
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Three-Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Mississippi Stud

River City Casino St Louis

Horseshoe Casino Hammond

• 777 Casino Center Dr, Hammond, IN 46320
• 1 (219) 473-7000
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Mini-Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Poker, Big Six Wheel, Pai Gow, Baccarat, Mississippis Stud

Jumer's Casino & Hotel

• 777 Jumer Dr, Rock Island, IL 61201, United States
• 1 (309) 756-4600
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three-Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Poker

Majestic Star Casino & Hotel

• 1 Buffington Harbor Dr, Gary, IN 46406
• 1 (219) 977-7777
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Spanish 21, Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Big 6 Wheel, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, Let It Ride, Poker,Mississippi Stud

Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino

• 21 Blackjack Blvd, East Peoria, IL 61611
• 1 (309) 698-7711
• Games Offered: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three-Card Poker, Let It Ride, Mississippi Stud, Poker, Big Six Wheel

Rivers Casino - Des Plaines

• 3000 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018
• 1 (847) 795-0777
• Games: Slots, Video Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Baccarat, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Spanish 21, Texas Hold'em Bonus, Mississippi Stud

Illinois Land-Based Casinos Map

Casino Queen St Louis