Share
The Wind Creek Southland Casino ranked fifth among Illinois’ 16 casinos for revenue in its first month, having drawn a significant crowd since its November 11 opening. It will likely move up in coming months, as the $10.2 million it posted in November came from only 22 days of operations, not a full month.
Its revenue performance was similar to Hard Rock Rockford, another new addition to the market in recent months. Hard Rock opened on August 29, and earned $11.7 million in November.
According to a Chicago Tribune publication, Roger Kuehn, Wind Creek’s general manager, expressed gratitude for the casino’s early achievement, noting that it will likely double down on its win with the intended addition of new offerings.
We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response to our opening last month, and we are greeting new guests at the property daily. We anticipate keeping a steady momentum as we roll out more programming, new promotions, and more offers to our Wind Creek players.
Wind Creek Southland to face strong challengers
Wind Creek attracted 141,546 visitors in those first three weeks. That hot start put it second only to Rivers Casino Des Plaines, in terms of visitation. Rivers had 258,049 visitors, although that includes the full 30 days of the month, unlike Wind Creek.
If Wind Creek’s daily average performance in November extends into December, it may also end up second on the revenue charts. Extrapolating its $10.2 million in 22 days to 30 days would have given it $13.9 million it had had operated for all of November, ahead of anyone but Rivers Des Plaines.
However, competition is tight among the runners-up.
Bally’s Chicago Casino is a worthy contender, despite being an old facility, it had the fourth-most visitors, reaching 108,455. These figures are set to multiply with its permanent facility listed to open in 2026.
Hard Rock Rockford had the third-highest visitors and was similarly in third place for revenue, only narrowly beating Wind Creek.
This month’s figures will be more meaningful, putting all parties on equal footing. Wind Creek may have the upper hand, being the new operator in the block.
The dynamics of attracting customers differ significantly between brick-and-mortar casinos and online casinos.
Although this comparison escapes Illinois, as online casinos have not been legalized yet in the region.
New online casinos often face challenges due to existing customer loyalty elsewhere, whereas being the newest retail casino in the state can be a major draw, as older establishments can appear dated and lose appeal.
Illinois Casinos Post $152.8 Million in November Revenue
In total, all 16 Illinois casinos brought in $152.8 million in adjusted gross receipts. The top five generators, in descending order, were:
- Rivers Casino: $43.2 million
- Grand Victoria Casino: $12.1 million
- Hard Rock Casino Rockford: $11.7 million
- Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel: $10.2 million
- Wind Creek IL LLC: $10.1 million
The entire sum allocated to the state tax from all casinos in November was $38.2 million for the state share and $9.8 million for the local share.
Wind Creek brought in $1.3 million in state share and $651,000 in local share.
According to Illinois law, the casino will allocate 5% of its adjusted gross receipts toward public funding. This will be distributed among local communities, with East Hazel Crest and Homewood each receiving 2%, and the remaining 3% shared among other south suburban areas.
The annual tax revenue generated is expected to be approximately $7 million, supporting essential public services.
