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By John Grochowski

Grand Victoria Casino Elgin, Illinois

It doesn’t take very many steps off the ramp and in through the casino entrance to understand what Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois, is all about.
To the immediate left are $1 Wheel of Fortune reel spinners. To the right is a bank of $5 machines labeled “Premium Slots,” with IGT three-reel games including Five Times Pay and Diamond Elves. Straight ahead is the table games pit, where the $25 tables are busy even on a weekday morning.

Grand Victoria Casino Indiana

The Grand Victoria Casino located on the Fox River

Oh, there are penny and two-cent games, too, mostly on the lower deck. But more than any other casino in Illinois, Grand Victoria caters to the upper end of the market.
And the ramp? Yes, Grand Victoria is on a riverboat, the same one built for the casino’s opening in 1995. In the early days, it would chug up and down short distances of the Fox River, in compliance with Illinois cruise regulations. Nowadays, it sits dockside, cruises no longer required.
But unlike other Chicago area operations in Aurora and Joliet, Grand Victoria has remained in the same facility instead of replacing it with a dockside barge. The others used to split their legal limit of 1,200 gaming positions between two boats per site, each spreading the games among three or four decks --- a lot of up and down stairs. Grand Victoria always has had most of its games on the entry level, with a relative handful downstairs on a lower deck. The need for a barge has never been pressing.

A view of the main casino inside the Grand Victoria

When Illinois started opening riverboat casinos in the early 1990s, part of the point was to bring new business to old river towns that had been hit by the loss of old industry. That included Elgin, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago.
Grand Victoria has tried hard to make itself part of the community, sharing a portion of its revenue with local institutions beyond the state gaming revenue and admissions taxes. Its free parking garage, with 1,450 spaces to go with a large surface parking lot, serves the downtown area as well as the casino. Restaurants, in a land-based pavilion, are open to the full community. Some Chicago area casinos have experimented with putting turnstiles outside the restaurant area of their pavilions, which effectively bans those under age 21. The purpose is to save admissions tax --- if a customer leaving a casino area passes through turnstiles to go to the buffet, then re-enters through turnstiles, it’s a separate tax. Grand Victoria has never concerned itself with that.
Ties to Elgin’s past are symbolized by a giant analog clock hanging high from the 55-foot ceiling in the entryway to the casino pavilion. It harkens to the days of the Elgin National Watch Company, which produced quality timepieces in the city for 100 years, starting in 1864.
Back in the present, Grand Victoria has been the most successful of Illinois’ nine casinos. Until the economic downturn of the last couple of years, it frequently produced monthly gaming revenues of $30 million-plus. More recently, with business hurt by both the recession and Illinois’ ban on smoking in public facilities, $24 million or so has been the norm. It has an outstanding location, with a near-monopoly on the affluent northwest suburbs centered in nearby Arlington Heights.
That near-monopoly is coming to an end. Ground has been broken for a new casino to open next year in Des Plaines, toward the eastern side of that northwest suburban area. Grand Victoria has been preparing for the new competition with a spruce-up, including a new restaurant, the Prime Burger House, featuring gourmet burgers such as the Thai Chicken Burger and the Prairie Fire Buffalo Burger, or, if what you really want is a traditional hamburger, the In the Box Burger.
Buckingham’s Steak House has been a fixture since the casino opened, but its menu is undergoing some updating and fine-tuning. The same goes for the Grand Victoria Buffet. Crave Deli offers 24-hour service, rounding out the four food-service options.

Buckingham's, the fine dining restaurant at Grand Victoria

On the gambling boat, Grand Victoria stands alone in having dollar games as the most common denomination. In every other casino in Illinois, either penny or 2-cent games command the largest share of floor space. At Grand Victoria, there are 391 dollar games among the 1,126 electronic gaming devices, with 2-centers having the next biggest share at 279 games. When the casino opened, when nearly all slots were three-reelers, quarter slots ruled the floor, but it quickly became apparent there was high demand for dollar games. That continues today, though low-denomination video games have carved out their niche.
For those who play at $5 level, Grand Victoria offers some strong video poker, with Not So Ugly Deuces (99.7 percent return with expert play), 9-6 Jacks or Better (99.5), 8-5 Bonus Poker (99.2), 9-7 Double Bonus (99.1) and 9-6 Double Double Bonus (99.0). Dollar games are a step down --- 8-5 Jacks or Better, 9-5 Double Double Bonus, 9-6 Double Bonus --- so players might want to consider quarter Triple Play/Five Play games instead. There you’ll find 9-5 Jacks or Better, 9-6 Double Double Bonus and Illinois Deuces Wild, about as good as you’ll get on quarters in the Chicago area.
The table games pit has 17 tables for blackjack, four for craps, four for roulette, three for Three Card Poker, and one each for Caribbean Stud and mini-baccarat. Craps offers 100x odds, with a $10 table minimum on a weekday visit. The same morning, $15 and $25 blackjack tables offered a six-deck game with the dealer hitting soft 17 and double downs after splitting pairs permitted. Beware of the $5 and $10 tables, where blackjacks pay only 6-5, padding the house edge by 1.4 percent.
Responding to the poker boom, Grand Victoria has a small card room with six poker tables. No-limit Texas Hold’em rules the roost here.
There is plenty for low-rollers to do along with the emphasis on higher-limit games. And with good restaurants and variety in an airy pavilion, it’s a solid mix for Chicago area players looking for a day or night out.
Grand Victoria Casino is located at 250 South Grove Avenue in Elgin, Illinois. For more information call them toll-free at (888) 508-1900, or visit www.grandvictoriacasino.com.

John Grochowski writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column on gambling,
and is author of the 'Casino Answer Book' series from Bonus Books.

The Grand Victoria Casino Elgin is a riverboat casino in Elgin, Illinois, United States, located about 40 mi (64 km) west of Chicago.^[1] It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts.

History[edit]

The casino was developed by Gold Strike Resorts and Hyatt.^[2] It opened its doors on October 6, 1994.^[2]

Gold Strike was acquired in 1995 by Circus Circus Enterprises, which later changed its name to Mandalay Resort Group, and was then acquired by MGM Resorts International in 2005.^[3] At the time of the merger in 2005, management of the property was transferred from Mandalay to Hyatt.^[4]

In August 2018, MGM and Hyatt sold the casino to Eldorado Resorts for $328 million.^[5][6]

Casino[edit]

The casino employs about 1,440 people.^[7] The 29,850 sq ft (2,773 m²) facility consists of approximately 1,100 video poker and slot machines in addition to 36 table games.^[8]

Grand Victoria Casino

In addition to games, the casino has banquet and dining facilities including Buckinghams, Indulge Buffet, Crave Deli, and the Prime Burger Bar.^[9]

Economic contributions[edit]

Each year the Grand Victoria Casino Elgin donates 7.5% of its adjusted net operating income to the Kane County Board and 12.5% to the Grand Victoria Foundation.^[7] In 2008, Kane County received about $8 million to use for internal programs, about $1 million of which was available for projects benefiting the county's educational, environmental, and economic needs.^[10] Grants for these projects are recommended by Kane County's riverboat committee, but both the executive committee and the county board must approve the funds before they can be distributed.

In addition to the Kane County Board and the Grand Victoria Foundation, The city of Elgin receives its own portion of the Grand Victoria's revenue. Casino profits led to the removal of the $25 vehicle license fee as well as a yearly property tax rebate for senior citizens.^[11] Today, the city continues to allocate funds for housing restoration. In 2007 specifically, the city allocated twice as much money as usual for housing rehabilitation.^[12] Money is also dedicated to the following causes:

• Toy collecting
• Not-for-profit organizations

The Grand Victoria Foundation sponsors additional community programs, such as film screenings, at Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin.^[13]

Revenue reports since 2000[edit]

According to the Daily Herald, the Grand Victoria Casino Elgin generates more revenue than any other Illinois casino. In 2007, the casino took in $437 million, a rise of 13% since 2000. This increase in revenue came as a result of tightening slot machines, and occurred despite a 32% drop in attendance between 2000 and 2007.^[14][15]

As Illinois Gaming Board reports illustrate, the 2008-2009 economic recession has led to an overall decrease in revenue among Illinois casinos, particularly the Grand Victoria. The casino's revenue of $25 million for the month of February, 2009 was down 9.9% from the previous year and down 24% from 2007.^[16][17] The Smoke Free Illinois Act, which banned smoking in all enclosed workplaces beginning January 1, 2008, also severely reduced casino attendance.^[18][19] Casino industry officials estimated that Illinois would receive about 20% less in monetary contributions from the casino over the course of 2008, a difference of nearly $144 million.^[20]

In an attempt to make up for lost revenue, the Grand Victoria and other Illinois riverboat casinos are petitioning for permission to distribute free alcoholic beverages. Supporters of a proposed bill say that the current law is unclear, while opposing groups cite increased gambling addiction as a likely consequence if free alcohol distribution is legalized.^[21]

References[edit]

1. ^Sanborn, Tele Atlas (2009), Google Maps, retrieved 2009-03-29
2. ^ ^abSiewers, Alf (October 7, 1994). 'Elgin sees dollar signs as casino boat sets sail'. Chicago Sun-Times – via NewsBank.
3. ^IL Campaign for Political Reform, 2005, archived from the original on 2008-11-20, retrieved 2009-04-02
4. ^'Hyatt affiliate to manage Grand Victoria'. Kane County Chronicle. Geneva, IL. April 29, 2005 – via NewsBank.
5. ^Corilyn Shropshire (April 16, 2018). 'Elgin's Grand Victoria Casino to sell for $327.5 million'. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
6. ^'Eldorado Resorts completes acquisition of Grand Victoria Casino' (Press release). Eldorado Resorts. August 7, 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-07 – via Business Wire.
7. ^ ^abIllinois Casino and Gambling Association, Grand Victoria Casino, archived from the original on 2009-01-20, retrieved 2009-03-02
8. ^Elgin Riverboat Resort D.B.A. Grand Victoria Casino (1998–2009), Grand Victoria Casino Elgin - Property Overview, archived from the original on 2009-04-16, retrieved 2009-03-29
9. ^Elgin Riverboat Resort D.B.A. Grand Victoria Casino (1998–2009), Grand Victoria Casino Elgin - Dining, archived from the original on 2009-04-15, retrieved 2009-03-29
10. ^Hague, Leslie (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-03-31
11. ^Alft, E.C., ElginHistory.com, retrieved 2009-04-02
12. ^Moylan, Sue (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-03-31
13. ^Moylan, Sue (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-03-31
14. ^Ryan, Joseph (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-03-31
15. ^Ryan, Joseph (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-03-31
16. ^Illinois Gaming Board (2009), Illinois Gaming Board(PDF), archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-04-07, retrieved 2009-03-31
17. ^Johnson, Steven Ross (2009), Suburban Chicago News, retrieved 2009-03-31
18. ^Illinois General Assembly, retrieved 2009-04-02
19. ^Casino City Times, retrieved 2009-04-02
20. ^Filas, Lee (2008), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-04-02
21. ^Associated Press (2009), Daily Herald.com, retrieved 2009-04-02

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Coordinates: 42°01′52″N88°16′49″W / 42.031046°N 88.280318°W

Grand Victoria Casino Indiana Hotel