14 hours to burn in Chicago area

I'll be in Chicago on 3/6. I was planning on being in town for 6 hours to attend a family gathering. Now, the gathering has been cancelled AND my arrival has been changed by the airline. The airline did fine by me, offering a small credit, an upgraded seat, and giving plenty of notice. BUT, I'm now going to be in Chicago for 14 hours with nothing to do. I'm thinking that I'd like to re-visit some of the Chicago area casinos.

I was planning on visiting one of the Harrah's properties to keep my points active, but work will require me to be in Louisville from 2/28-3/4 and I'm staying at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana then. So I'll be playing at a Harrah's casino at that time.

What do y'all think I should do with my free time in Chicagoland?

I'm assuming you're flying into O'Hare.

#1 - Illinois casinos all suck.

#2 - Horseshoe and Potowotomi are about the same distance from ORD. My vote is for Potowotomi or non-gaming activity in the city.

That's a Sunday, so the Horseshoe will probably have $25 minimums on BJ and $15 on craps. Harrah's in Joliet will have similar minimums, maybe a little lower. At the other Indiana casinos you can usually find $10 BJ and $5 craps on weekends.

Most of the Indiana casinos run shuttle buses to and from various points in Chicago. Easiest place to pick one up, in terms of access and frequency, is probably Chinatown, near the Red Line L station. The Horshoe also runs shuttles from downtown, generally near where hotels are clustered. The buses are free provided you stay at the casino for at least 2-3 hours. Even if you don't stay this long you can probably persuade the driver to take you home earlier. If you're using the buses it's not really viable to casino hop, although I guess you could use cabs. They're all in industrial areas which are probably safer than they were 20 years ago but are still not pleasant places to spend time.

I don't know whether the Illinois casinos have any free transportation. None of them are really close to each other besides the two in Joliet. If you have a car you should have enough time to visit at least couple of them. If not it is possible to take Metra (the commuter rail) to at least the Aurora one, which is near the train station.

I'd go check out the sights. Chicago has the Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History, all fabulous. They're all within walking distance of each other. Take the Blue Line.

Otherwise the Grand Victoria is your closest casino in Elgin, 20 miles away. The closest casino in Indiana is 35 miles away.

Don't gamble. Horseshoe is the nicest, so if you must go to one, go only there. Check out their Asian gaming area. Are you Diamond level? They have a great Diamond Lounge.

Otherwise, just sightsee in Chicago. Plenty to do there.

Haven't been to Potawatomi so can't speak to it. Agree with the person who said Illinois casinos all suck.

(BTW, I played $5 craps at Horseshoe on a Sunday).

Quote: teddys

(BTW, I played $5 craps at Horseshoe on a Sunday).

How recently, and what time of day? I went there once or twice a month on weekends. Last visit was May 2010; don't live there anymore. Maybe if it was early on a Saturday they'd still have a $10 craps table up, but most tables on weekends were $15, and I understand on busy weekends they go even higher.

About 5:00 P.M. This was a month or so ago.

Any recommendations for Casinos w/Craps in the Metro Chicago area?