New casino opens in Chicago’s southern suburbs

All bets were off Monday morning when Illinois’ 16th casino opened its doors for business in the south suburbs.

The Wind Creek Chicago Southland began accepting bets at 11 a.m. at 17300 S. Halsted St. in East Hazel Crest.

Its 1,400 slot machines and 56 table games will be live from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. daily until the casino receives approval from the Illinois Gaming Board to operate 24 hours a day. There’s also a poker room and a sports bar, which is expected to eventually be licensed as a full-fledged sportsbook.

The entertainment complex has several dining options. A hotel on the upper floors of the 16-story casino building is expected to open early next year.

“Even if you don’t play, you can come here, enjoy good food and have a good time,” Roger Kuehn, general manager of Wind Creek Chicago Southland, said during a preview of the casino.

Wind Creek will pay $45 million to the state within the next month as part of its license terms. That money — along with future cuts to casino revenue by the state — is earmarked for Gov. JB Pritzker’s $45 billion capital infrastructure modernization program.

The host communities will also feel a share of the tax revenue. The Wind Creek property sits on the border of two suburbs, with the play area in East Hazel Crest and the attached parking garage within the boundaries of Homewood.

Dozens of other southern suburbs will also receive smaller slices of tax revenue under the long-sought gambling expansion law signed in 2019.

Alabama-based Wind Creek Hospitality, part of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, won the casino license over competing bids based in Matteson, Calumet City and Lynwood.