CARTERVILLE, IL — Governor JB Pritzker Wednesday joined elected officials, stakeholders, and labor leaders to break ground on the new Walker’s Bluff Resort and Casino in Carterville.

Made possible after the Illinois Gaming Board’s June 9, 2021 determination that Walker’s Bluff is preliminarily suitable for licensure, the new resort is slated to include a 116-room hotel along with a gaming floor, event center, and multiple restaurants, among other attractions.

Since 2008, Walker’s Bluff has served as an entertainment and tourist destination for Southern Illinois, offering jobs and opportunities to hundreds of local residents and bringing thousands of visitors face to face with Southern Illinois’ natural beauty. Thanks to the gaming bill that Governor Pritzker signed during his first year in office, the Walker’s Bluff Resort and Casino will open the door to even more economic development.

With the expansion of gaming, the industry is now poised to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in new state revenues, funding critical vertical infrastructure projects in communities across the state.