IN THE NEWS

Casinos in Illinois were forced to close in mid-March. Starting July 1, they will be back open with some pretty noticeable changes. Those changes include reduced capacity up to 50 percent, masks required for both patrons and staff, as well as social distancing between...

Governor JB Pritzker has signed a gaming bill that will allow video gaming at the Illinois State Fairs. Senate Bill 516 will allow the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) to operate video gaming terminals at the Springfield and Du Quoin State...

Expect to wear face masks, stay 6 feet from the nearest bettor and skip the buffet line when casinos reopen starting Wednesday in Illinois. The state's 10 casinos are hurrying to put COVID-19 health protocols in place before they can open their doors for the first...

Kathleen Slavin said business has been booming at Ryan’s Pier, the popular Aroma Park bar and restaurant nestled near the Kankakee River. She’s bracing herself for an even bigger turnout this weekend as the prohibition regarding indoor seating in bars has been lifted...

Northwest Indiana's five Lake Michigan casinos soon no longer will be the only game in town. The Illinois Gaming Board has authorized the state's 10 casinos, along with the more than 35,000 slot machines located in Illinois bars, restaurants, truck stops and...

It's an industry unaccustomed to facing the long odds usually experienced by its patrons. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the tables on Midwestern gambling establishments, threatening to sap a collective billions of dollars from state and local economies. Casinos and...

Video gaming terminals could be lit up and ringing again in Illinois bars and restaurants by the end of June, but there is no such luck for the state’s casinos. The green light has been given for video gaming terminals to be operational when Illinois hits phase 4 in...

The state has established safety rules for casinos in Illinois to follow once they reopen, but industry officials said it will be a different experience from what patrons enjoyed before the coronavirus pandemic. The Illinois Gaming Board approved protocols for the...

The city of Chicago is on pace to further reopen its economy on July 1, with restrictions potentially being loosened on indoor restaurant dining, museums and gyms, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said. Arwady made the comments at a Friday afternoon news...

While casinos in Las Vegas reopened a week ago and Indiana prepares to welcome back gamblers Monday, it's no dice, yet, for the 10 gambling houses in Illinois. Illinois Gaming Board officials said Thursday the timing and conditions for the resumption of casino...

A group of Illinois Senate Republicans are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to lift additional restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus by Friday — weeks ahead of the timeline outlined in the governor’s reopening plan for Illinois. “We continue to hear...

Under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan, restaurant dining rooms in Illinois are required to stay closed until June 26 at the earliest, but some restaurant owners have decided to open up anyway. All four regions of the state are in Phase 3 of Pritzker’s five-phase...