I list the opening and closing dates for several hundred casinos at ChipGuide.com. My goal is to be as accurate as possible with these dates.

Some time back, maybe as long as a year ago, I got an email from someone named Mike who pulled same dates from a report of the Illinois Gaming Board. I am just now trying to verify those dates and make sure the guide is accurate. I apologize to Mike for not getting on this sooner. I really appreciate him taking the time to help me out.

What I have found in the past is that many times the dates in gaming files are innacurate. For example, they are quite often 1 day off. I think they record the date that the casino had it's "fun nite", the nite that the casino invites guests and does a dry run so that the gaming commission can check their procedures. In those instances, I try to record the date that the casino actually opened to the public.

There are 5 Illinois casinos on the list whose opening dates are quite different than what I show in the guide.

Casino Rock Island
Grand Victoria
Harrah's Joliet
Players Metropolis
Par-A-Dice

If anyone has any knowledge of the actual date these casinos opened to the public I would very much appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

Greg Susong