Located about sixty miles northwest of Chicago, the city of McHenry is one of prettiest Chicagoland suburbs. The city was formed around 1836, and it was named for Major William McHenry, an early Illinois politician and military leader. Both the city and county were named after him. The city has continued to grow throughout the years, but they hit a rough patch in 2009 when the economy crashed.

After years of debate, the city lifted its ban on video gaming in 2013. The change allowed veteran halls, restaurants, and bars to have up to five video gaming machines in their establishments. One year after lifting this ban, both the city and their local businesses saw an increase in overall profits. McHenry brought in $97,000 in revenue from video gaming alone during the first year and businesses with video gaming brought in $684, 584.

Video gaming has helped many different businesses in McHenry be able to keep their heads above water without going out of business or racking up considerable debts. Often times, smaller businesses need this assistance so they can compete against bigger chains. The lift on the video gaming ban has helped many small, family-owned businesses keep from filing bankruptcy.