Jumer's Casino Rock Island
Jumer's Casino Rock Island
In the 1950's D. James Jumer was a successful franchisee and corporate officer of Chicken Delight Restaurants in Detroit, Michigan and Washington, D.C. Mr. Jumer wanted more, and he successfully converted and expanded a Kramer's that he purchased into the Jumer's Castle Lodge, Peoria, Illinois.
Since that humble beginning, the business sphere of the Jumer organization expanded to include Jumer's Castle Lodge, the Castle Lodge of Urbana, the Jumer's Chateau opened in Bloomington, Illinois. A former Sheraton Hotel in Galesburg, Illinois was acquired in 1982 and was renovated to become Jumer's Continental Inn.
Fast forward to 1988, Mr. Jumer, now with a successful chain of hotels in operation, expanded his business ventures by constructing The Peoria Boatworks Complex. This unique entertainment complex featured the Spirit of Peoria, an excursion boat with restaurant facilities seating over 400, that operated daily excursions along the Illinois River. From this venue, Jumer became interestedin converting the boat into a riverboat that was a floating casinio. A year later in 1989, the state of Iowa became the first state in the union to allow riverboat casino gaming. This precipitated the state of Illinois to pass similar legislation and provided the opportunity for Mr. Jumer to begin a new career in casino gaming.
The Riverboat became operational on April 1, 1991 in the Quad Cities. The cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa were the first communities to offer this new entertainment experience. One year later, in March of 1992, the Rock Island Boatworks, featuring the Casino Rock Island, began its gaming cruises.
Today, Casino Rock Island has been a successful casino operation and sees hundreds of thousands of people every year.
