Waukegan casino breaks ground on new $302M permanent facility

Shovels hit the dirt as workers broke ground Wednesday on the permanent site for the American Place Casino in Waukegan.

The new $302 million casino will be erected at 4011 Fountain Square Place, directly east of the temporary facility where it has been operating since February 2023.

The nearly 100,000-square-foot current facility features 905 slot machines, dozens of table games including the newly opened Harbor Poker Room, a sportsbook, four full-service restaurants, a center bar, and a year-round calendar of entertainment and events. It was recognized by the Chicago Tribune as a 2024 and 2025 Top Workplace and Culture Excellence honoree.

“Three years ago, we opened our doors in a temporary facility and promised the Waukegan community something bigger. Today, we’re moving ahead to deliver on that promise,” said Jeff Babinski, vice president and general manager of American Place Casino. “The permanent American Place will expand what we offer, create hundreds of new jobs, and give our guests, team members and community a destination they can be proud to call their own.”

The permanent casino will be roughly twice the size of the temporary facility and situated on the 42-acre site, southwest of Illinois Route 20 and Waukegan Road. Its design is in the style of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

“I'm excited to build this project in my home state,” said Babinski, a Rock Island native who has been in the gambling and hospitality business for 35 years.

The casino is expected to have about 40% more slot machines and 85% more table games than the temporary casino, as well as an assortment of restaurants, bars and other amenities. It is expected to open mid-2028.

“We are going to have right around 1,300 slot machines, roughly 80 table games and double the size of the poker room that we currently have,” Babinski said. “We are going to have additional dining options. We will eventually have more amenities, gathering spaces, immersive guest environment. We are going to be able to provide a much more elevated facility than our current (casino).”

Jobs will increase from the roughly 640 employees now working at the temporary facility to around 750 when the new casino opens. Future phases of expansion would add more jobs.

Gambling revenues also are expected to double once the permanent casino is operational.

“We are averaging right around $10.5 million a month gaming revenue,” Babinski said. “We expect our revenues to grow considerably. We’ve been extremely successful in the tent. We are seeing it month in, month out.”

Babinski said if Waukegan follows the trend of other casinos that went from temporary to permanent facilities, the new casino could be pulling about $21 million monthly in net gambling revenues, “which puts us No. 2 or No. 3 in the state out of 17 casinos.”

American Place Casino benefits from having the Great Lakes Naval Station in neighboring North Chicago and its steady stream of naval academy graduations that brings “a lot of transient business,” he added.

While it draws customers from far and wide, the majority of the casino’s patrons come from within Lake County and 74% of its team members live here as well, Babinski said.

The casino’s expansion marks a significant chapter in Waukegan’s revitalization. State and local leaders, including Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham, were on hand to celebrate the start of construction Wednesday.

“As we indicated recently to the financial community, we are well down the road on arranging the long-term financing for American Place,” said Daniel R. Lee, chief executive officer of Full House Resorts, which owns, leases, develops and operates gambling facilities nationwide. “We decided to begin construction now, while we complete the legal and banking work on such financing. The early stages of construction take time and can be funded from our existing resources and cash flows.”

Currently, Waukegan receives 3.5% of net gambling revenues and one-third of the admission tax — $1 out of the $3 charge. Park city gets 0.5% of net gambling revenues, North Chicago gets 0.75% and Lake County gets 0.25%.

The permanent casino is being designed by California-based WATG architects, which has designed many casinos and hotels nationwide. Its construction will be led by Power Construction and Powers & Sons Construction.

Chicago-based Power Construction has built many of the city’s most iconic structures over the past 100 years. Powers and Sons, a large minority-owned construction company founded in Gary, Indiana, with offices in Chicago, was an integral part of the team that built the temporary American Place Casino.

“This is exciting times for us and we can't wait to get the ground broke and start to get phase one of the casino up and running,” Babinski said.