Penn Entertainment will open its $360 million Hollywood Casino Aurora outside Chicago on June 24, 2026, the operator confirmed, deepening its Midwest land-based portfolio one month before Illinois’s sweepstakes-casino ban takes effect.
Penn Entertainment announced on May 27, 2026 that its long-awaited Hollywood Casino Aurora will open to guests on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The $360 million property, located across from Chicago Premium Outlets near Interstate-88, will house more than 1,200 gaming positions, a retail sportsbook, a hotel, a spa and a 12,000-square-foot event centre. The opening lands 35 days before Illinois’s new sweepstakes-casino ban becomes enforceable on July 29, 2026.
Key Facts:
• Hollywood Casino Aurora set to open Wednesday, June 24, 2026 — Penn Entertainment investor release, May 27, 2026
• Total project cost: $360 million, financed in part through a Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) sale-leaseback — Penn Entertainment / GLPI filings
• Gaming capacity: more than 1,200 positions across slots and table games, plus a retail sportsbook — Penn Entertainment
• Property amenities: hotel, full-service spa, 12,000 sq ft event centre, roughly 1,700 parking spaces — Penn Entertainment
• Aurora opens 35 days before the July 29, 2026 enforcement date for Illinois’s sweepstakes-casino ban — Illinois Gaming Board
What just happened?
Penn Entertainment, the Pennsylvania-headquartered regional operator that runs Hollywood Casino-branded properties across the US Midwest, gave its new Aurora property a hard opening date after a year of construction. The property is a relocation and expansion of an existing Hollywood Casino Aurora, which had operated from a riverboat dock in downtown Aurora since 1993. The land-based replacement followed Illinois’s 2021 reform that allowed riverboat licences to move to on-land sites.
The opening follows the debut of Hollywood Casino Joliet in summer 2025. Aurora and Joliet together give Penn Entertainment two purpose-built destinations within an hour of downtown Chicago, the largest regulated casino market in the US Midwest.
Why does this matter for the industry?
The Aurora opening lands in the middle of two industry crosswinds. The first is the US consumer-protection wave: Illinois has become the latest state to ban multi-currency online sweepstakes casinos, with civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation under legislation passed earlier this year. Sweepstakes traffic forced to migrate stands to flow toward regulated land-based and licensed online destinations.
The second is sustained M&A overhang across US regional operators. Caesars Entertainment is in exclusive negotiations with Tilman Fertitta’s vehicle for an enterprise-value deal reported above $18 billion, and renewed market speculation has tied Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital to a fresh MGM Resorts approach for Entain. Every new land-based opening sharpens the valuation conversation around peer operators.
Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment, framed the opening in the corporate release. “We are thrilled to follow the successful rollout of Hollywood Casino Joliet last summer with another new land-based property, strengthening our overall retail portfolio in the Midwest and deepening our roots in the community,” Snowden said. (Casino.org)
What does it mean for consumers and oversight?
Aurora is a licensed Illinois Gaming Board property, with state-run self-exclusion, ID checks at entry, on-floor responsible-gambling materials, and the credit- and alcohol-restriction rules that apply to all Illinois casinos. That contrasts directly with the sweepstakes operators Illinois has moved to prohibit, which have historically operated outside the state-licensing perimeter. Michigan and Connecticut have also held sweepstakes-oversight hearings in 2026.
What happens next?
The forward calendar is concentrated in the four weeks after opening. Penn Entertainment has guided that hotel rooms and the premium dining venues will open in phases through the summer; the event centre is expected to host its first booked events from late August. Investors will watch three things: weekly visitation versus the closed riverboat baseline, sportsbook hold and handle disclosures in Penn Entertainment’s Q3 2026 earnings call, and conversion rates from displaced sweepstakes players after July 29.
FAQ
Q: When does Hollywood Casino Aurora open?
A: Wednesday, June 24, 2026, according to Penn Entertainment’s May 27, 2026 investor release.
Q: How much did the new property cost?
A: Roughly $360 million, financed in part through a sale-leaseback structure with Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI).
Q: How does this fit with the Illinois sweepstakes ban?
A: The opening falls 35 days before the July 29, 2026 enforcement date for the Illinois sweepstakes prohibition, positioning Penn Entertainment to capture displaced volume.
Q: Will the new property offer online casino games?
A: No. Illinois has not legalised real-money online casinos, so Aurora’s offering is land-based gaming plus a retail sportsbook only.
Related coverage: Illinois sweepstakes block order compliance and the Fertitta–Caesars buyout financing.
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