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Illinois’ Wind Creek Casino Delays Opening To 2025

Wind Creek Hospitality delays opening of new Illinois casino in the south suburbs to 2025. The opening was originally in early 2024.

Airport Flight Monitor Shows Delayed with Illinois casino 2025
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Nicholaus Garcia Avatar
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Illinois residents in the south suburbs looking for a new place to gamble will have to wait a little longer. 

The new Illinois casino from Wind Creek Hospitality was set to open later this year. Unfortunately, the casino is pushing back its opening date to January 1, 2025.

South suburban Illinois casino opening date pushed back

 Courtesy of Wind Creek Hospitality, the Chicago Southland Casino will encompass 73,000 square feet within the East Hazel Crest and Homewood suburbs.

Construction on the $529 million facility began last September after receiving approval from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB). The new property will have:

  • A 70,000-square-foot gaming floor
  • 1,350 slot machines
  • 56 table games
  • Multiple restaurants and entertainment venues
  • A 252-room luxury hotel

Additionally, the new casino will create 800 permanent jobs.

Partnership with Chicago Bulls builds credibility for the casino

In November, Wind Creek COO Brent Pinkston announced signing a necessary sponsorship deal to help boost the casino’s credibility. 

That credible sponsorship deal was with none other than the Chicago Bulls. At the time, Pinkston said:

“As a new brand coming to the Chicagoland market, we believed it was important to establish a name for ourselves and a level of credibility with the local market as quickly as possible.”

Ultimately, the deal will help Wind Creek increase its exposure to Chicago-are residents. As part of the deal, Wind Creek branding will appear on signage in the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls. On game days, the casino operator will run fan promotions, including hotel stays and casino bonuses. 

Bulls VP of Business Development Mark Levitt said:

“We are excited to partner with Wind Creek over the next few seasons to bring fans new in-arena competitions, social content and sweepstakes. This new partnership will support our ongoing efforts to further elevate the gameday experience for Bulls fans at the United Center and across our social platforms.”

Nicholaus Garcia Avatar
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Nick Garcia is a senior reporter for PlayUSA. Garcia provides analysis and in-depth coverage of the gambling industry with a key focus on online casinos, sports betting and financial markets. Garcia has been covering the US gambling market since 2017. He attended Texas Tech University as an undergrad and received a Master of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago.

View all posts by Nicholaus Garcia

Nick Garcia is a senior reporter for PlayUSA. Garcia provides analysis and in-depth coverage of the gambling industry with a key focus on online casinos, sports betting and financial markets. Garcia has been covering the US gambling market since 2017. He attended Texas Tech University as an undergrad and received a Master of Arts in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago.

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