Argosy Empress Casino

Argosy's Empress Casino
The flag pictured is currently the only one know to have survived the fire that destroyed the Empress Casino. It displays the casinos official logo and now belongs to a private collector.
Location	Joliet, Illinois
Address	2300 Empress Drive Joliet, Illinois 60346
Opening date	June 16, 1992
Closing date	March 20, 2009
Theme	Egyptian
Casino type	Riverboat
Owner	Empress Casinos (1992-1999) Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation (1999-2001) Argosy Gaming Company (2001-2004) Penn National Gaming (2004-2009; its destruction)
Architect	LindenGroup Architects

Argosy's Empress Casino (also known as Empress Casino Joliet) was a Riverboat casino and hotel located in Joliet, Illinois. Built in the 1990s by a group of investors headed by T.J. Lambrecht, Empress Casino become one of the first riverboat casinos in Illinois. It was destroyed by a fire on March 20, 2009.

In the early 1990s construction company owner T.J. Lambrecht believed that a riverboat casino in Joliet could thrive, a risky idea at the time. Using a portion of his own money, he and a group of investors created Empress Casino. The Empress Casino opened on June 16, 1992 as a riverboat type casino in Joliet, Illinois. The casino made extensive use of the Egyptian theme including several pyramids on top of the entertainment complex, a large recreation of the Sphinx and faux hieroglyphics along the sides of the building. The unique Egyptian theme became the casinos hallmark. In 1996 its sister casino was opened in Hammond, Indiana as Empress Casino Hammond. Empress sold both casino properties to Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation in 1999. Horseshoe sold the Empress Casino Joliet to the Argosy Gaming Company in 2001 for $465 million. The company re-branded it as Argosy's Empress Casino.Penn National Gaming acquired the Argosy Gaming Company in 2005 and took over all of its operations including the Empress Casino. While undergoing a renovation in 2009 the casino was destroyed by a fire. Penn National Gaming rebuilt the casino under its Hollywood Casino brand as Hollywood Casino Joliet, the Egyptian theme was mostly removed and replaced with 1920's-1930's art deco.

The interiors were designed by the Varond Design Group, Inc.

The Empress had a detached 102 room hotel. The hotel included a pool and whirlpool area along with a business/conference center. Empress was the only casino in northern Illinois to have an onsite RV park. The park was opened seasonally and provided many amenities including showers, and water/electrical hook ups. A complimentary shuttle bus ran between the hotel and the casino.

While undergoing a $50 Million renovation, a fire broke out at around 10 a.m. on March 20, 2009. The fire was caused by a spark from a welder's torch which ignited grease in one of the kitchens. The subsequent fire spread rapidly. The casino was evacuated and fire crews attempted to contain the fire for several hours. The fire burned above the sprinkler systems reach in what are known as void spaces, inside walls and above hung ceilings. Inside the void spaces the fire was able to spread quickly and decimate the entire entertainment complex. It took a significant portion of the cities fire department several hours to bring the blaze under control. The fire resulted in no fatalities however two guest were transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While the gaming complex itself was untouched by the fire the entire entertainment area was a total loss. The roof collapsed on the kitchen and ballroom area taking with it one of the large pyramid structures that sat atop the roof.