Chicago
In 1986, I met a young woman named Gabrielle, of Wellington Square, Cheltenham, while waiting for a bus to take me from Gatwick to Heathrow. We exchanged names and addresses and I told her that if she came to Chicago I would show her the haunts of gangster Al Capone. Sadly for Gabrielle and me, it wasn’t enough of an attraction, but things have changed.
Since that time, we now have the statue of Michael Jordan outside the United Center basketball arena to entice tourists away from the Louvre, Great Wall, Big Ben, Taj Mahal, and the Cheltenham Spa. We have the #1 rated hotel and the #1 rated restaurant in the United States. Even better, with the proliferation of gaming, the Chicago area has numerous land and riverboat casinos.
History
The city was founded in the 1770s by fur traders who settled on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Chicago River, then called by its American Indian name of “Checagou.” That original site is now near the current downtown area, including where the north Michigan Avenue Bridge crosses over the river, the beginning of the so-called “Magnificent Mile” of trendy shops, art galleries, and hotels.
The use of the Chicago River for transportation stimulated early growth of the city, and the growing U.S. railroad grid, with major terminals in Chicago, later brought grain, meat, and lumber into Chicago for processing. That ensured it would become one of the U.S.’s major urban centers. It is home to nearly 3 million people, with another 3 million in the surrounding suburban area.
Chicago/Gaming
Eight major casinos are within an hour or two’s drive from Chicago–four riverboat casinos in Illinois and four directly southeast of Chicago across the Indiana state border. Although Illinois and Indiana have a total of 17 casinos, only these eight are relatively near to Chicago. In addition, a slightly longer ride will take you to two expansive casinos on American Indian reservations in the state of Wisconsin, north of Illinois. These have provided a major economic boom to these chronically impoverished native peoples. Many of these casinos are part of full resorts, with hotel rooms, multiple restaurants, and night-time Vegas-style entertainment. If you’re driving, they are all accessible from major highways.
Chicago downtown has no casinos itself. Because the Chicago river runs through the middle of downtown near major hotels, if Chicago wins the bid for the 2016 summer Olympics, expect a number of large casinos to be constructed downtown, possibly along the river.
In addition to “live poker”, the kind in which you play against the other players and the house takes a cut, the casinos have what they refer to as “carnival” poker games such as Caribbean Stud, 4-card stud, 3-card stud, and Let It Ride. In these games, based on poker, you play against the house. I refer to them as “poker alternatives.”
Some of the Indiana casinos have interesting variations on blackjack. In “Spanish 21” or “Blackjack Surrender” the 10’s are removed from the deck (the Js, Qs, and Ks remain). That means to card counters using the complete point count system that you start out with a –4 card count. That would seem to make the game a complete disaster, but the game includes side bets, no push occurs if the dealer gets 21, and, most importantly, you can “surrender” and retain half your bet at any time. This is a major advantage for the counter.
Best Bets
Harrah’s Casino
With 39,000 square feet Harrah’s Casino (Tel: 800-427-7247; www.harrahs.com) has the second largest gross receipts of the Illinois casinos. Although it has no live poker, it has 14 blackjack tables, 1200 slots, four restaurants, and a 204-room hotel.
The Empress Casinos
With its Egyptian motif, The Empress Casino (Tel: 800-436-7737; www.pngaming.com) is one of the most attractive Illinois casinos. It has the largest number of slots of all the Illinois casinos, live poker and poker variations, 3 restaurants and a 101-room hotel.
Indian Casino
Except for the Majestic Star (which is two casinos side-by-side), Ho-Chunk Casino (www.ho-chunk.com) and Potawatomi (www.paysbig.com) casinos run by native Americans are the largest and most exciting in the Chicago area. Of the 17 Wisconsin casinos they are also the two closest to Chicago.
The Ho-Chunk has 18 blackjack tables, 4 craps and 4 roulette tables, 12 live poker tables, and 8 poker variation tables to go with 2000 slots. Its 315-room hotel allows you to both gamble and visit the nearby Wisconsin Dells water amusement park, with its rides, water ski show, campgrounds, and golf courses. Because of its location, it also promotes itself as a convention center. The Potawatomi Casino is smaller than the Ho-Chunk but still has 27 blackjack tables, 4 craps and 3 roulette tables, 15 live poker and 2 poker variation tables, and 15 slots. It is in Milwaukee, however, a quick 90 miles up the interstate highway from Chicago.
The Horseshoe
The Horseshoe Casino (Tel: 866-711-7463; www.horseshoe.com) is the king of baccarat in the area, with 13 baccarat tables to go with 23 blackjack tables and 2000 slots. It has 4 craps and 4 roulette tables but no live poker. It’s only 20 miles from Chicago and features 5 restaurants. Best is Fai Choi, which means “prosperity” and features dishes from both China and Japan.
Chicago/Hotels
Being the largest city in the centre of the U.S., and therefore not requiring visitors to take lengthy flights to the west or east coasts, Chicago has for decades been a major convention center. As a result, it has thousands of hotel rooms and its share of 5-Star and 4-Star hotels. Tops are The Peninsula Chicago (Tel: 866-288-8889; www.peninsula.com), currently ranked the #1 hotel in the U.S., the Four Seasons (Tel: 800-332-3442; www.fourseasons.com), and the Ritz-Carlton (Tel: 800-332-3442). These are all located on or near the Magnificent Mile and adjacent night life area, Rush Street. Many of the finest art galleries in Chicago are located in that general area as well, and you might want to spend 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the first Friday night of each month walking from opening to opening for the art and complimentary wine and cheese.
A relatively new addition to the city, opened only in 2001, the 20-story Peninsula Chicago was ranked the #1 hotel in the U.S. by both Conde Nast Traveler and the Zagat survey in their most recent rankings. Also ranked #2 in the world by Zagat, the Peninsula has earned a 5-star ranking annually. The rooms are elegantly decorated, in a modern classical motif fit for royalty, heads of state, and high rollers. Brits will enjoy the afternoon tea, served in the gold-tone colored hotel lobby. Its combined fitness center-spa was named the #1 “Urban Hotel Spa” in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler in its most recent survey. It covers 15,000 sq. ft. on the top two floors of the hotel, providing spectacular views for your sweating, swimming, and sipping.
Its modestly-priced Peninsula Suite is larger than the vast majority of American homes, a 3000 sq. ft. spread located on the top floor of the hotel with views of the Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan. It shares the modern classical gold-tone motif of the lobby, a clean, uncluttered, open look. With a formal dining room, grand piano, and private outdoor terrace with jacuzzi, the $7500 per night suite has both an exercise room and a study with an imposing executive desk.
The Four Seasons’ most prestigious suite, the Presidential Suite, is reminiscent of an ultra-exclusive men’s smoking club– sort of like Sherlock Holmes meets Aristotle Onassis. Very different in motif from the Peninsula’s highest priced suite, it makes no attempt to be metallic or glassy. Its European decor includes handcrafted wood tables, luxurious sofas, plush carpeting, and upright lamps, in a subtle mixture of browns, yellow, blue, and red furnishings. Located on the 46th floor, the view of the Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan from the suite is striking from all rooms, a view you can enjoy while imbibing from either of the two private suite bars.
The 2315 sq. ft. suite has 2 full marble baths and a powder room. The oversized master bathroom includes a pink marble soaking tub, a perfect place to relax for a week with two or three friends. After all, it’s only $3500 per night, tip change for us.
Eating Out
Because of its variety of ethnicities, Chicago has hundreds of good restaurants of various cuisines, ambience and cost, and many truly excellent ones. Indeed, without considering those in the Chicago suburbs, the Chicago phone book lists nearly 4000 restaurants that are located within the city limits.
Alinea
(Tel: 312-867-0110; www.alinearestaurant.com), although only opened in 2005, is ranked the #1 restaurant in the U.S. by the Zagat survey. It features innovative dishes which re-define cuisine, such as an entree served on a leaky pillow filled with lavender-scented air.
Topolobampo
(Tel: 312-661-1434; www.fronterakitchens.com) is the Mexican restaurant of Rick Bayless, the host of a popular U.S. public television cooking program. He also runs the more casual Frontera Grill, also ranked as one of Chicago’s finest restaurants, adjacent to Topolobampo. Whatever else you eat, you have to make room for a Chicago Italian beef sandwich. This Chicago favourite is a large sliced french bread bun, into which is jammed thinly sliced beef and sweet and/or hot green peppers, and then smothered in tangy au jus. As the home of the modern skyscraper, Chicago has several restaurants with striking views.
Cite at the Top
(Tel: 312-644-4050) sits atop Lake Point Towers, a condominium building on Lake Michigan. Boasting spectacular views in all directions, the restaurant is decked out in shimmering gold columns and sheer fabric flowing from underneath starched white table linens.
The Signature Room
(Tel: 312-787-9596; www.signatureroom.com) is on the 95th floor of the third highest building in the U.S., the John Hancock Building on the Magnificent Mile (the second tallest, the Sears Tower, is in the middle of downtown).
Everest
(Tel: 312-663-8920), although listed under the category of finest restaurants, is also among those with the best views. On the top floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange, it looks westward, with the city lights glittering beneath the sunset.
Be the first to comment on this
If you are a Gambling.com member, please login at the top left of this page.
If you are not a Gambling.com member, please complete our sign up form—membership is free and it takes just a minute or two to sign up.
Bookmark this page: (What are these?)