(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Plans by the owners of Hollywood Casino to move their riverfront casinos in Aurora and Joliet to new and bigger facilities have leaders in both suburbs talking about what that would mean for their communities.
PENN Entertainment plans to build a new casino, dining, entertainment and meeting complex near Interstates 55 and 80 in Joliet. The existing Hollywood Casino is off Route 6.
Jen Howard, the president of the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the new casino would bring many more visitors and dollars to Joliet, given its inclusion of a 10,000-square-foot convention center.
“We have nothing like that,” Howard said.
PENN Entertainment also announced plans to replace its casino in downtown Aurora with a new complex near the interchange of I-88 and Farnsworth Avenue.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin told the Beacon News he expects the new casino to bring in many more visitors and dollars, which he says will "change the face of the city of Aurora.”
PENN hopes to begin construction on both facilities late next year, pending regulatory approval.
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