Full House Resorts welcomed guests to The Temporary on Friday night at America Square in Waukegan. As the name suggests, the Las Vegas-based company will be serving as a short-term facility as it prepares to build an upscale casino in the Lake County community about 10 miles south of the Wisconsin state line.

 

The Temporary is in Waukegan's Fountain Square, where Full House plans to build the $400 million American Place Casino Resort.

 

The Full House uses a 68,000-square-foot tensioned membrane structure built by Sprung Industries to accommodate approximately 1,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a Circa Sports sportsbook.

 

Full House's newest casino could start paying a dividend for the company in the short term.

 

On the company's third-quarter earnings call with analysts last November, Lee noted that The Temporary could even be "bigger than our entire company."

 

Lee told analysts last year that the three casinos — Rivers Des Plaines and Grand Victoria Elgin in Illinois and the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee — generate about $1.2 billion in annual revenue. The new casino will be located in Lake County, north of Chicago, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States.

 

American Plaza will seek to cater to a high-end clientele. The Mansion is part of the original development, which will consist of 20 private villas ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet. Full House plans to add another hotel as part of the resort's second phase.

 

Illinois lawmakers approved new casino licenses in Waukegan and five other communities as part of expanded gaming laws passed in 2019. Illinois previously had 10 casinos across the state. More casinos coming to Illinois

 

A Hard Rock Casino in Rockford opened a pop-up in November 2021. The permanent facility is slated to open in November of this year.

 

The Golden Nugget Casino is expected to open a temporary facility later this spring in the central Illinois city of Danville, Indiana. The Walker Bluff Casino in Carterville, in the southern part of the state, is due to open later this year.

 

Casinos in Chicago and the southern suburbs of Chicago are also set to be built.

 

Chicago officials selected Bally's Corp. last year to build a $1.7 billion resort along the Chicago River, where the Chicago Tribune's printing plant currently sits. But before it opens in 2026, Bally plans to open a temporary casino at Medinah Temple.

 

In the Chicago suburb of East Hazel Crest, Wind Creek is building the 70,000-square-foot Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino, which will feature 1,350 slot machines, 56 table games and a 252-room luxury hotel just 200 meters from the Indiana state line Just minutes away.