Final Plans for Des Plaines Casino in Place

As the Rivers Casino grand opening nears, city officials are putting the final touches on preparations.

Rivers Casino will open July 18th, according to the city's website. Discussion about the casino’s liquor licensing was taken off the agenda at Monday night’s city council meeting.

“There were some questions that needed to be answered,” said Des Plaines Mayor Martin Moylan.  No date has been set for a meeting between city and casino officials, but the liquor licenses will be in place by the casino’s open date, Moylan said.

Because the casino is a new type of facility for Des Plaines, city liquor laws needed to be tweaked to allow for the new bars within the casino, Moylan said.  In all, the casino will have six separate bar areas within, according to city documents.

Final security details will be worked out at a meeting tomorrow between city police officers and security staff members at the casino, Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini said. The city is not expecting more crime, Prandini added. 

Prandini and his department have studied the crime rates of other local areas with casinos, such as Elgin and Joliet. None of those areas have seen a spike in crime, Prandini said.

“Otherwise, we would have added more police officers to our force,” Prandini said.

Anticipating a higher need for , city officials have also upped the number taxi permits for Des Plaines.

Rivers Casino is hiring and the facility is expected to employ about 1,000 workers, according to the casino’s website.