Danville casino developers to go before Illinois Gaming Board on March 10

Danville Development LLC, operator of the proposed Golden Nugget Danville Casino, will appear before the Illinois Gaming Board on March 10 to seek a preliminary finding of suitability, Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. announced Friday.

The suitability presentation is the next step in Danville Development’s pending application for an owner’s license to operate a casino in Danville.

Williams said the city should know the preliminary finding the same day, and if all goes well, a groundbreaking could follow in 45-60 days and the casino could be operating nine months later.

“I’m really stoked,” Williams said. “It’s going to be 300 well-paying full-time jobs with many part-time and seasonal jobs, and it’s going to provide awesome recreation activities for those who live here and visitors.”

The proposed Golden Nugget Danville at 204 Eastgate Drive would have a 41,500-square-foot gaming floor with 500 slot machines, 14 table games and two restaurants, one of them a Saltgrass Steakhouse, Williams said.

It would also have a sports book and 650 surface parking spaces and offer an online gaming and digital sports betting platform through Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc.

The presentation to the gaming board will include details on Danville Development Corp.’s suitability and address requirements and qualifications for the proposed casino, according to the announcement.

Danville Development President James Wilmot said the company is well-prepared for the hearing and excited to present details of the project.

“There is tremendous anticipation for the Golden Nugget Danville Casino, and we are looking forward to delivering what we have promised to this community,” he said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a gambling-expansion law in June 2019 allowing for six new casino licenses in the state, and Danville’s current application before the gaming board — submitted in January 2021 — is the second one submitted. Danville’s original application was withdrawn after the city changed operating partners to Danville Development, Williams said.

After the city started over with the second application, he said, the process of getting before the gaming board was expected to take about a year.