Photos: What Will Hollywood Casino Joliet Look Like Inside When It Opens Soon?

JOLIET, IL — On Friday morning, for the first-time ever, Penn Entertainment hosted a news media tour of its new Hollywood Casino Joliet being built in the Rock Run Collection along Interstate 55 and Interstate 80 on Joliet's west side near Shorewood.

Aug. 11 is expected to be the first day the new Hollywood Casino will be open. On Friday, Penn Entertainment general manager and vice president Ruben Warren told Joliet Patch that Hollywood will increase its number of employees from about 400 to 650 staff.

Hollywood will shut down its long-time location along Route 6 between Rockdale and Channahon and move all its gaming operations to its new Joliet location a few miles away. The casino opened in the early 1990s as a floating riverboat on the Des Plaines River when it was first known as the Empress Casino.

During Friday's news media tour, Warren promised everyone that his new Joliet venue will become the most attractive casino in the entire Chicagoland region once it opens in one month.

"They are going to expect a new rebranded Hollywood Casino located at I-55," Warren explained. "A very lively convenient casino that offers something for everyone, from our food hall, entertainment venue, the high-limit areas, ESPN Bet Sportsbook with screens that are the largest in Chicagoland. A very lively casino is what our customers are going to experience.

"This is going to be the best casino location in Chicagoland, and I can't wait for customers to react to what they see today," Warren remarked.

According to Hollywood Casino, the property will feature approximately 1,000 slots and 43 live table games, including a baccarat room, a retail ESPN BET sportsbook, an approximately 10,000 square foot event center with meeting areas, and roughly 1,330 parking spaces.

The property will feature the Boulevard Food & Drink Hall, a dynamic dining experience that will include Lucky Goat, an all-new burger concept from celebrity chef Stephanie Izard; Antique Taco, the first suburban location for the popular gourmet taco restaurant; Pretty Cool Ice Cream, the Chicago favorite that also has storefronts in Logan Square and Lincoln Park; and Five50 Pizza, a New York-style meets Neapolitan pizza concept offering from the fine dining chefs at McClain Camarota Hospitality (MCH).

One condition of Friday's news media tour was that the new casino floor showcasing the gambling machines and games were not photographed for security and regulatory purposes.