Posted on: September 27, 2024, 03:50h.
Last updated on: September 27, 2024, 03:50h.
The closest hotel to Rivers Casino Des Plaines has sold for a second time in less than a year.
The Real Deal Chicago first reported the news that the Courtyard by Marriott located at 2950 S. River Road in Des Plaines was sold earlier this month. The seller was Texas-based real estate firm NewcrestImage, which only acquired the 200-room hotel in October 2023. NewcrestImage bought the property for $18 million.
The buyer was local real estate investor Parag Patel and his Wisconsin business partner Kevin Patel. The purchase price, Cook County property records show, was $21 million, or $105,000 per key.
The Patels told The Real Deal Chicago that they plan to invest $5 million to update the hotel, which is informally called the Courtyard Chicago O’Hare. The buyers executed the transaction on Sept. 10 with help from two loans totaling nearly $16 million issued by Missouri-based Midland States Bank. The hotel’s annual property tax liability for 2024 is nearly $900,000.
Casino Hotel
Along with serving as an overnight spot for O’Hare International Airport flyers, the Des Plaines Courtyard benefits from being the closest hotel to the Rivers Casino.
The casino, which opened in July 2011, is the largest casino floor in Illinois. The casino spans 78,500 square feet with over 1,500 slot machines, 70 live dealer table games, and a BetRivers Sportsbook.
The casino dominates the state’s current 15-casino gaming industry. In August, for example, Rivers generated gross gaming revenue of $43.5 million. Its nearest competitor was Caesars Entertainment’s Grand Victoria riverboat at $11.9 million.
Rivers Casino Des Plaines was built and opened by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming. Though Rush in 2019 sold a 62% controlling stake in Rivers Des Plaines to Churchill Downs for $407 million, the firm continues to manage the property’s operations.
Many Illinoisans who like to gamble and are flying out of O’Hare, the state’s largest airport and the fifth busiest airport in the United States, add on a night to their trip to patronize Rivers. Many of those gamblers opt to stay at the Courtyard that neighbors the casino just to its north.
Rivers has an ongoing relationship with the Courtyard that provides casino rewards members with discounted rates.
For a room tonight, a standard rate starts at $159 while a casino rewards member is offered the same room for $127. Reservations made under the casino rewards program must show their Rush Rewards card upon check-in.
Along with the casino, Rivers Des Plaines has five full-service restaurants, a coffee bar, and a casino bar. The casino also has a concert venue where touring acts play.
Casinos Over Hotels
Rush Street Gaming has a history of opting not to include an on-site hotel at its casinos across the country. Of the company’s five casinos, only two have on-site accommodations — Rivers Casino & Resort in New York’s Schenectady and Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.
Rivers casinos in Philadelphia and Virginia’s Portsmouth mimic Rivers Des Plaines in opting for local partnerships with area hotels. Rivers Philadelphia last year announced a partnership with a new luxury hotel located inside a historic building that’s just a short walk from the casino along the Delaware River.
