Golden grand opening: Casino officially opens doors Friday
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DANVILLE — There was glitz and glamour at Friday’s grand opening for the Golden Nugget Danville Casino.
City, state and casino officials stood under the sparkling Golden Nugget sign, and in the hot sun, for grand opening ceremony remarks and the ribbon cutting, while the public waited for the casino’s opening, listened to music and waited for the giveaways, promotions and showgirl photo ops.
Golden Nugget Casino officials said they wanted the grand opening celebration to be an unforgettable day of fun and excitement.
Jimmy Wilmot, president of Danville Development which owns the casino, went back in history to tell the crowd in attendance how they got there. In late December 2019, he got a phone call from Scott Macneil, who also was in attendance at the grand opening, asking Wilmot if he had an interest in casinos in Illinois.
Wilmot said he answered, “Maybe, not sure.”
“We jumped into the weeds in December, January and February (2019) and we started putting together a design team, people who could run the analytics for us, and tell us what the market’s going to do,” he said.
Wilmot said they hired Kuhlmann Design Group to start studying it and brought a plan that spring and summer to the city of Danville.
City officials had them make some changes and update some of the offers Danville Development made to the community, and the city demanded a strong partner in the project.
“We were lucky enough in August of 2020 to become the selected developer of the city of Danville,” Wilmot said.
Then they were lucky to partner with Landry’s, Golden Nugget and Saltgrass Steak House.
In November 2020, their application was filed with the Illinois Gaming Board to have the casino become a reality. Danville Development secured debt financing from KeyBank and worked with Wilhelm Construction of Indianapolis as the general contractor.
As part of the casino licensing process, in March 2022 they were given initial suitability.
“Off to the races we went,” Wilmot said, adding that in 30 days they closed out their financing and put shovels in the ground and began working.
Like other construction projects, they had their snags, but Wilmot said, “here we are. May 27 we opened to the public for a soft opening. And today we’re here for our hard opening. Today does not happen without community support, great partnerships and relationships. The whole team is very proud of what you see today.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be here today and we’re very optimistic to see what this can become here in the future,” Wilmot said.
“Today is exciting, we are running our first promos, so floor wide you can win. You don’t have to just win a jackpot. You can win other prizes. We didn’t have legal ability to do that until today. So, it’s a big step for this casino. We’re excited to see new winners. We want to see excitement on the floor. We’re excited to get that going. We’re happy you came out,” Wilmot said.
Danville Mayor Rickey Williams thanked everyone who has been involved in the casino becoming a reality, including current and former city, state and labor representatives, and casino steering committee members.
Williams said the casino means lots of things for the community, including economic development and over a $100 million investment. Also, because of the casino, other development can occur, and the host agreement brings more money to local organizations.
“Let the good times roll,” he said.
At noon, following the ribbon cutting, the casino, at 204 Eastgate Drive, opened to the public for the day.
The Illinois Gaming Board has issued the casino a temporary operating permit. The permit allows the casino to open in the interim prior to the IGB approving the casino’s permanent license.
The casino gaming floor features almost 500 slot machines. Table games include Baccarat, Blackjack, 3-Card Poker, Craps, Mississippi Stud, Roulette and Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em.
