In 2019, Churchill Downs Inc., which owned the nearby Arlington Park racetrack, purchased a 62 percent stake in the casino from Bluhm and his partners for $407 million. The casino opened in July 2011 as Rivers Casino. Des Plaines was awarded the gaming license in 2008. Get directions, reviews and information for Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, IL. In 2008, the Illinois Gaming Board awarded the state's 10th and last casino license to Midwest Gaming and Entertainment LLC, a group led by Neil Bluhm, to build a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m 2) casino on approximately 21 acres (8.5 ha) adjacent to the Tri-State Tollway at the northwest corner of Devon Avenue and Des Plaines River Road. This was created for the casino to comply with state law, intended to legalize riverboat gambling. The building sits above a few inches of water in a shallow pit. It is majority-owned by Churchill Downs Inc., and managed by its minority owner, Rush Street Gaming. It is minutes away from O'Hare International Airport. Rivers Casino is a casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, United States, a northern suburb of Chicago. JSTOR ( July 2015) ( template removal help).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: 'Rivers Casino' Des Plaines – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.