Key facts
- Hollywood Casino Aurora opens its new land-based resort on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, pending Illinois Gaming Board approval.
- The $360 million property sits across from the Chicago Premium Outlets near Interstate 88 in Aurora, Illinois.
- Craps returns to the floor as part of a full table-games lineup, alongside more than 1,200 total gaming positions.
- The new building replaces the original Fox River riverboat, which has run craps and other table games since 1993.
- The nearest alternatives for craps after the move include Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin and Harrah's Joliet, each roughly 20 miles away.
- The resort adds a 226-room hotel, a full-service spa, a retail sportsbook, restaurants and a 12,000-square-foot event center.
AURORA, Ill. — Craps players in the western suburbs are about to get a bigger, better place to roll the dice. Hollywood Casino Aurora will open a new $360 million land-based casino on Wednesday, June 24, moving its dice tables and the rest of its gaming floor off the Fox River and onto dry land for the first time in more than three decades.
The new property, built by PENN Entertainment Inc. across from the Chicago Premium Outlets near Interstate 88, will carry forward the craps tradition that has anchored the Aurora floor since the riverboat opened in 1993. Craps has long drawn the biggest and loudest crowds at the existing casino, and the move to a land-based building gives the game far more room to breathe than the cramped quarters of a docked barge ever allowed.
For anyone who follows legal craps, that extra space matters. Craps is the most social game on any casino floor, and the energy of a hot table depends on having enough room for a full rail of players. The riverboat layout capped how many tables the casino could run and how many shooters could crowd around each one. A purpose-built land-based floor with more than 1,200 gaming positions removes those limits, leaving space for additional craps tables and the standing crowds that make the game what it is.
The existing Hollywood Casino Aurora has offered craps as a centerpiece of its table-games menu for years, sitting alongside blackjack, roulette, mini-baccarat, Mississippi Stud and a live poker room. Under Illinois law, only one casino license exists for Aurora, so the riverboat will close once the new building opens, and the dice action will simply move up the road to the new address.
"We are now months away from opening another premium entertainment destination in the greater Chicago region," Jay Snowden, chief executive and president of PENN Entertainment, said in a statement. "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."
The transition does mean a short stretch with no craps in Aurora itself, since the riverboat is expected to close as the new property opens. For players who cannot wait or who want to gamble during the changeover, the next-closest craps tables are about 20 miles away. Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin sits roughly 18 miles north, while Harrah's Joliet and PENN's own new Hollywood Casino Joliet are about 19 to 21 miles to the southeast. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the busiest casino in the state, is around 28 miles away and also spreads craps. A fuller breakdown of where to roll the dice statewide is available in our guide to craps in Illinois.
The Aurora move reflects a broader shift in Illinois gambling law. The state legalized riverboat gambling in 1990, becoming the second state in the country to do so, with a requirement that casinos operate on water. A 1999 amendment allowed the boats to run while docked, and a 2019 change permitted the state's existing riverboat casinos to relocate onto land. Aurora is among the last to make that move, following PENN's relocation of its Joliet riverboat to a new $185 million land-based casino in August.
Beyond the gaming floor, the new resort will include a 226-room hotel, a full-service spa, a retail sportsbook, multiple bars and restaurants and a 12,000-square-foot event center. Dining will feature Sorella by Giada, tied to celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis. PENN expects to employ about 700 people at the new casino, nearly double its current Aurora workforce, and the property includes roughly 1,700 parking spaces.
PENN, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, operates casinos, racetracks and online betting brands across more than two dozen jurisdictions in North America. The company said it expects to receive $225 million in funding from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. near the opening, along with $50 million in contributions from the city of Aurora.
For craps players, though, the bottom line is simple. After more than 30 years on the water, the dice are coming ashore, and the new Hollywood Casino Aurora is built to give the game more room than it has ever had in the western suburbs. Additional details about the grand opening are expected before June 24.