Illinois was the 5th state admitted to the union on December 3, 1818. It covers an area of 57,918 square miles. It is a Great Lakes state, and is nicknamed the “Prairie State”. Illinois also is home to riverboat casinos, and there are 9 major casinos in Illinois.

Illinois casinos have been limited by the government’s restrictions and are taxed at the highest rate in the nation. The laws also limit the amount of gaming licenses that can be issued to 9, and the state is now at the maximum for gaming licenses. Illinois casinos do, however, offer a wide range of gaming options.

These are only three of the nine Illinois casinos. They all offer special features that are worth taking a look at, like paddleboats and barges. Most casinos also offer great dining on site. Illinois casinos offer much more than gambling – they offer a great vacation experience.

Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino

Argosy’s Alton Belle Casino was the first riverboat casino in Illinois, opening its doors in 1991. It is located at 1 Front Street in Alton. There are three restaurants available for guests. The casino occupies 23,000 square feet and operates from 9am to 5pm every day. It features a 1,200-passenger yacht and a barge.

Argosy’s Empress Casino

Argosy’s Empress Casino is located at 2300 Empress Drive in Joliet. There are 85 rooms and 17 suites available at the casino hotel. The casino operates from 10am to 4am on Friday and from 10am to 4am on Saturday. There are three restaurants on site. The casino occupies 50,000 square feet, and has special features like an 80-space RV park and 2,500-passenger barge.

Casino Queen

Casino Queen is located in East Saint Louis at 200 South Front Street. There are 150 rooms and 7 suites available at the casino as well. The casino operates from 9am to 7am daily. It occupies 27,500 square feet and offers many features. Besides gaming, Casino Queen offers a 2,500-passenger paddle wheeler, a 140-space RV park and easy access to MetroLink light-rail station.

Illinois is definitely not known for its excellent walleye fishing. Most anglers that live in Illinois will plan their fishing trip to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada or Lake Erie when they want to fill their coolers with walleye. There are some places that you can consistently catch walleye and sauger and if you are within a short drive to these waters, you can catch some nice fish for the dinner table.

When most people think of walleye, they typically think of fishing lakes and rivers farther to the north, but in Illinois, it seems like some of the best walleye waters are to the south. Some of the lakes in the southern part of the state that have plenty of walleye in them are Lake Carlton, Clinton Lake, Kinkaid Lake and Evergreen Lake. Head out to the western Illinois area and you will find Pittsfield City Lake, which is probably the best walleye lake in the state for big fish.

Once you head up north, there are a few lakes to focus on to go along with a few rivers. Lake Shabbona is located a couple of hours west of Chicago and it is mostly known for its state record muskies. People would talk more about the walleye fishing if you were allowed to fish after dark on this lake. There are plenty of walleye in the lake with many trophy-sized fish, but the extremely heavy fishing pressure here makes it difficult to land more than a couple of fish per outing and some anglers that fish out here never catch a walleye.

The Fox Chain of Lakes is a popular boating and fishing destination. The walleye fishing can very good here in the spring and fall. Summers can be tough because the pleasure boaters are all over the lake and they seem to get up earlier and earlier every summer. It is not uncommon to see someone on a jet ski at 8 in the morning during the summer. There are plenty of lakes to fish in this chain and many of them produce healthy populations of keeper-size walleye.