* Abdel Jimenez at the Tribune…
As Chicago considers five possible locations for a casino, an Indiana gambling facility just across the state line is making expansion plans of its own.
Spectacle Entertainment, which owns two Lake Michigan riverboat casinos in Gary, announced plans earlier this month to move those gambling operations to a 40-acre site adjacent to Interstate 80/94.
It will partner with Hard Rock to manage the new $400 million casino property, which will be just 18 miles from the “Harborside” location at 111th Street and the Bishop Ford Freeway, one of the five possible casino sites Chicago has selected for consultants to study.
The timing of Spectacle’s announcement, just a month after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that expands gambling in Illinois and allows for the construction of a large Chicago casino, is no coincidence.
Spectacle and other casino companies in northwest Indiana have seen the amount of money they win from gamblers slide during the past decade, and they are moving aggressively to hang on to Chicago-area players who travel to the Hoosier State to gamble. The four northwestern Indiana casinos run free daily shuttle buses that pick up Illinois gamblers from various locations.
* Casino.org…
Hard Rock Casino Gary construction could begin as early as September and be completed by the end of next year — if owner Spectacle Entertainment gets required city and Indiana state approvals over the summer.
Spectacle officials told the Gary Plan Commission this week the approximately 200,000 square foot, $400 million venue planned for a vacant parcel near the Borman Expressway is scheduled to open on Dec. 31, 2020. Following that, the company is expecting an adjacent hotel and parking garage would open in 2022 or 2023.
The commission unanimously approved the casino last Tuesday.
“We originally envisioned to do that all in one fell swoop, but then along came Illinois [casino expansion] and that sort of set us back on our heels a little bit,” John Keeler, Spectacle vice president and general counsel, was quoted by Inside Indiana Business. “But we’re committed to this project and committed to doing it in two phases.”
* The Tribune editorial board points to this passage in Illinois law…
In addition, prior to the Board issuing the owners license authorized under paragraph (4) of subsection (e-5), an impact study shall be completed to determine what location in the city will provide the greater impact to the region, including the creation of jobs and the generation of tax revenue.
And all but says the statute means the city casino will have to be downtown…
Today we aren’t suggesting any particular site. We’re instead keeping three points top-of-mind:
· Illinois is expanding gambling to collect more tax revenue and create jobs — but mostly for tax revenue. We can’t fathom why a casino in one location would deliver substantially more jobs than in another.
· Casino operators aren’t neighborhood improvement societies. They’re businesses, each looking for the most lucrative return on their investments.
· So the question becomes: Which — if any — Chicago location would produce the biggest windfall?
* Related…
* Sun-Times editorial: Understaffed Gaming Board needs a fast bulking up
- PublicServant - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:03 am:
===So the question becomes: Which — if any — Chicago location would produce the biggest windfall?===
Exactly, so that’s why Lightfoot’s South Side revitalization sites make zero sense.
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:06 am:
Welcome to the Thompson Center Water Park and Casino? It has a ring to it.
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:11 am:
Living in America 2019 is a gamble?
- Michelle Flaherty - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:12 am:
Welcome to the Wrigley Field Casino where your chances of winning are better than our bullpen’s.
- PublicServant - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:14 am:
I’m thinking Navy Pier with frequent boat shuttles to and from McCormick Place.
- Scamp640 - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 11:24 am:
Locate a casino in a far southwestern Chicago suburb, such as Macomb. Served by Amtrak.
- lakeside - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 11:29 am:
If I’m in town for a convention, etc. and I want to head to a casino, wouldn’t I just go to… the closest one to maximize my time/fun?
What could Hard Rock/Horseshoe offer of significant difference that would prompt me to travel at least (at *least*) 30 minutes in each direction by cab? To a whole other state? (If I’m a big time business dude, I’m not riding with the shuttle bus proles.)
Casinos make their money of high rollers and addicted poorer folks, to the best of my knowledge. The Chicago casino seems aimed at a) getting convention goers/business folks to spend extra money knocking off steam after the last meeting of the day (great, let’s have your money) and b) keeping local gambling dollars in Chicago, rather than N. IN (dubious moral grounds, but… ok, might as well).
I don’t understand the sense in putting it anywhere but where the non-local dollars already are (unless it’s an admission that we really plan for the bulk of the revenue to come from locals losing paychecks at the black jack table).
- Amalia - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 11:38 am:
loop, near south, near tourists. just do it.
- lake county democrat - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 12:00 pm:
Hasn’t it been settled that neighborhood casinos do -not- help the surrounding area? For generating revenue the Loop is a no-brainer and the Thompson Center a very attractive choice.
- Keyrock - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 12:48 pm:
Keep the elevators. Lose the offices. Fix the roof. Tear out the carpets. Go JRTC.
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 1:13 pm:
I would think a casino should be where tourists and money are. Then take city share and invest in poorer areas that need services. I don’t think an island casino as was said before would hell any community. And I am serious I think casino should sell marijuana too. There are too many casinos so have the Illinois ones offer something different
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 1:19 pm:
Voted for downtown in the casino survey—or near downtown but close to an area that needs economic help. It’s where the tourists and money are.
It’s so great that Chicago will take a lot of business from Indiana.
- State of DenIL - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 1:43 pm:
Thompson center water park and casino.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 1:55 pm:
==It’s so great that Chicago will take a lot of business from Indiana.==
I’m hoping it doesn’t hurt Hoosers too bad. Except for the people who came up with and worked on the “Illanoyed” billboards. They can go bankrupt for all I care.
- Yup - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 1:58 pm:
Tear down the JRTC and sell the land to a developer. Require the developer to keep the L, have the new building be at least 90 stories tall, and put the Chicago casino in the top 5-10 floors.
Offer casino goes not only a place to gamble, but an unparalleled view/experience.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
“I’m hoping it doesn’t hurt Hoosers too bad.”
The previous governor said he wanted to “rip the economic guts out of Indiana.”
- revvedup - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:31 pm:
Dowtown-ish is the place for it; the other locations make far less economic and logistical sense for the operators, unless the goal is to create a massive tax write-off by being in the economically depressed areas suggested. As for the JRTC, maybe they could tear it down and build the casino there; controlled implosion anyone? Imagine JB’s smile as he pushes the button…
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 7:53 pm:
The previous governor wasn’t exactly a good role model.
- Stuntman Bob's Brother - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 3:05 am:
For people who take their gaming “seriously” (frequent players who visit and spend money on a regular basis), I believe they will travel to a casino that has better odds. And the casino that has the better payout, will likely be the one with lower overhead costs (including the percentage taken by the state). Now, for tourists and suburban folks spending a night out downtown, then the odds probably don’t matter as much, I would think that “glitz” (food, entertainment, and ambiance) weighs more heavily. Which means, the proposed casino should be located to maximize exposure to the latter group, not where it will have to compete directly with the Indiana venues. Any location will need to focus heavily on security, people are less likely to go somewhere they don’t feel safe walking to and from their car.