It can be summed precisely as follows: location, location, location. Not only is Rivers Casino Des Plaines proximate to both Chicago and O’Hare International Airport, it sits at the nexus of two interstate highways, literally 
within a stone’s throw of I-294. Habitués of Las Vegas locals casinos might not impressed, architecturally speaking. You won’t see anything here you can’t readily find at M Resort or Green Valley Ranch. The buffet is solid but not outstanding (and you can only get crab legs on Tuesday), despite the stiff price: $29.95. The decor makes a fetish of the right angle, a frequently reiterated motif, softened by drop-down lighting fixtures that look like oversized Christmas balls.
No, what sets it apart is the absolutely feverish level of business that Rivers does. One sees in an instant why Churchill Downs wanted to buy into the action. On a Saturday night there was barely an open slot seat to be had and the joint was positively jumping in the sprawling table-game pit, crowded and electric.Whether this frenetic level of business will survive the infusion of multiple, new casinos and racinos in the greater Chicago area remains very much to be seen. But while it’s unlikely that Rivers’ casino product is markedly superior to the competition, it is definitely sitting in the catbird seat, happily devouring the market.
Last month, Rivers took in $38 million, a 3% increase in a month in which the state was down 5% to $111 million. Only Grand Victoria (+5.5%) at $14 
million and Harrah’s Joliet (-13%) at $13 million came close. Empress Joliet took in $10 million (-2%), Hollywood Aurora was down to $9 million (-4.5%), and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island slipped 6% to $6 million. Par-A-Dice did the same as Jumer’s, while Casino Queen did comparatively well, off 1% to $8.5 million, while Harrah’s Metropolis tumbled 9% to $6 million. Employees at Argosy Belle ($700K) hardly need to have shown up for work, as flooding wiped out most of the month, causing an 83% revenue wipeout.
* The Los Angeles Times has an excellent enterprise story on the influx of Chinese players—and workers—to Philippines casinos. It’s too lengthy to be summarized here but it merits reading. Key takeaways include a rapid accelerating in gambling revenue: from $1 billion in 2016 to $4.1 billion last 
year; comparable speedups in residential and commercial residential rates, to record levels; a massive influx of Chinese labor, causing much resentment among Philippine citizens. You get the picture. However, between the bribery culture in the Philippines and the mercurial policies of despot Rodrigo Duterte, the country is one of the last places that upstanding American operators should invest. Harrah’s Entertainment flirted with it, having missed the boat on Macao, and Steve Wynn sussed it out, too—before being hit by a lifetime band for having crossed Kazuo Okada. Say what you like about the Macanese regime or that of Singapore, it provides a climate of predictability and stability, qualities that are to find in other Asian countries.
* Taking a whiz at The Strat? Casino management has found a way for to shed a tear for Mr. Nixon in an appropriately Space Age manner: Views of Earth as seen from orbit play above your elimination, while the bathroom-sink mirrors are cosseted in mock space helmets. Like the Berlin Wall urinal at Main Street Station, it’s something Vegas visitors are going to have to do just to brag on it.
* Good news for Red Rock Resort. It got permission for a do-over of its cancelled July 4th fireworks. When it comes to celebrating American independence, better late than never.
