Monte Carlo. Macau. Atlantic City. Your Vegas backups all lack one thing: easy access from the
Kennedy Expressway. Rivers Casino, opening Monday in Des Plaines, rectifies that. But before you
go, we scouted the scene and ran the numbers. So to speak.15.8: Miles from your office (well, assuming you’re the mayor of Chicago).
147,000: Square feet of casino at your disposal.
29.93: Percentage of those square feet devoted to gambling.
$100,000: Max bet in baccarat.
$50,000: Max bet in single-hand blackjack.
1:1: Chances you have a buddy with a system.
3:2: Chances said system is based on repeated viewings of Rain Man.
1,050: Slot machines on the premises.
1: Machines inspired by Patrick Swayze. (Yep, it’s Dirty Dancing.)
100x: Craps odds.
0.021: House edge on 100x craps.
99:1: Chances that anyone at the table really understands house edge.
6: Restaurants and bars on the scene.
1: Places where you can knock back a sidecar made with VSOP cognac, peach bitters and apricot jam (Lotus).
.5: Ounces of Lillet Blanc in a Vesper martini, should a sidecar with apricot jam prove insufficiently James Bond-ish.
1: Restaurants serving sautéed frogs’ legs, Alaskan king crab and Chicago-cut steaks (Hugo’s Frog Bar & Chop House).
$179: Price of Hugo’s appropriately named 34-ounce Colossal Lobster Tail & Turf.
179: Monday’s lucky number.