Sounds of cheering and laughter could be heard in East St. Louis this week as more than 2,000 children took part in the Casino Queen’s 21st annual Toyland Event. Held on Dec. 9 and 10 in the grand ballroom at the Casino Queen Hotel, the event spread holiday cheer to thousands of children from School District 189 who got to experience the North Pole, complete with Santa, Mrs. Claus, FREDBIRD®, and a host of helpful elves. The Toyland event began over 20 years ago, and has brought joy and happiness to more than 40,000 children over the past two decades.
“The holiday spirit comes alive when you see a child’s face light up at the sight of Santa and the realization that he has gifts to share, and it is a privilege to be able to witness that magic,” noted Jeff Watson, general manager of the Casino Queen. “We are honored to be able to continue a tradition that enhances the holiday season for so many children.”
Participating children ages pre-kindergarten through second grade reveled in the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap and spend time with Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elves. Every child in attendance received a holiday gift bag with 14 gifts included in each. Among the types of toys included this year were winter gloves, warm knit caps, socks, a presidential ruler, a double bubble blower, 16 inch world beach ball, four coloring books on letters, numbers, spelling and math, a pack of jumbo crayons, a silicon watch, animal crackers and a wiffle ball bat and three balls.
Employees from the Casino Queen transformed the hotel ballroom into a Winter Wonderland on Monday, Dec. 8 in time for Toyland 2014. Approximately three dozen student athletes from Southwestern Illinois College volunteered at Toyland by acting as Santa’s elves and helpers and taking time out of their busy finals week to assist with this special event.
Casino Queen, located at 200 South Front Street in East St. Louis, Ill., was established in 1993 and has since made over $10 million in charitable contributions and invested more than $200 million in capital improvements on the East St. Louis riverfront. Employee-owned since the end of 2012, Casino Queen has long been recognized for having the nation’s highest slot payback among individual casinos by Casino Player Magazine. For more information, visit www.casinoqueen.com. You can also find Casino Queen on Facebook and Twitter.
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For more information:
Julie Hauser or Jeni Ross
The Hauser Group
314/436-9090 (office), 217/414-7600 (cell)