While the progress involving a large Bally’s resort casino in River West moves forward, so does the casino planned for Waukegan. American Place is currently under construction and seemingly not concerned about the second Chicago area casinos. Full House Resorts is behind the Waukegan project with senior VP and chief development officer of the company, Alex Stolyer stating the venue will have little impact on the casino.

Currently, a temporary casino is under construction so the operator can get going with gaming in the fall before opening a permanent structure in a few years. According to Stoyler, the casino will have more competition from the nearby Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and the Potawatomi venue in Milwaukee.

Details of the Casino Construction

The foundation of American Place’s temporary home is currently being poured with the venue to offer 70,000 square feet of space near the Waukegan Fountain Square shopping center. The foundation process should be completed by June 6 and then the Sprung structure will need to be added.

The Sprung option is membrane support that is a high-tension tent, and it has the ability to be constructed quickly. It will take only seven weeks to add. Once this part of the process is completed, the interior will be built. The property will house dining restaurants and 1,000 slots and 50 table games.

Plans are to have the structure in place and the interior completed by the fall. That way, the temporary casino will be up and running in just a few months.

Hiring Employees

As the casino space will be operational soon, Full House Resorts has been busy with the hiring process. All senior-level staff are hired, and the casino will be working on hiring employees to work the table games and serve food and drinks to customers.

Once an opening date is set, Stolyer says that dealers and slot techs will be hired. A total of 260 dealers will be hired. The casino operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Half of the staff will be experienced while the other half will be new to the industry.

First-time dealers will attend the company’s dealer school for training. The program is eight weeks long and teaches students how to deal roulette, baccarat, blackjack, and craps. Once a student is proficient in one game, they move on to another, to offer well-rounded services to the casino.

Before the casino can offer games though, an operating license must be secured from the Illinois Gaming Board. Once approved, a larger 100,000-square-foot casino will be constructed. A boutique luxury suite hotel is also in the initial plans. Years later, the property will add a four-star hotel to the area for overnight guests.