The Illinois Gaming Board December 22 chose Des Plaines and Midwest Gaming for the state’s 10th and last casino license, picking it over Rosemont and Waukegan. The vote was 3-1, ending four years of agonizing by the state board on what to do with the license. And the decision apparently came down to the only bid that was not tainted.

In doing so it passed over a much higher bid from a developer that wanted to build in Rosemont, which is still seen as having too much “mob” influence. A second bidder also suffered from problem relationships.

The winner was Chicago developer Neil Bluhm, who heads Midwest Gaming. Bluhm has recently become a true force in gaming, but has always been very well connected in Illinois. He has directly won a license for a Philadelphia casino, SugarHouse, and indirectly controls the sole license in Pittsburgh, that was originally awarded to Majestic Gaming’s Don Barden. Midwest Gaming won the bid despite the fact it may cannibalize the market for nearby casinos, Grand Victoria in Elgin and Hollywood Casino in Aurora.

Bluhm plans a 50,000-square-foot casino riverboat, parking garage, four restaurants and two hotels. He plans to start construction just as soon as the state process, which includes a background check on his investment group, concludes. Once building starts it will be about a year and a half before the riverboat opens for business. He will be redeveloping 20 acres of existing office buildings in the southeast corner of the city, which ironically borders near the village of Rosemont.

The runners-up were Trilliant Gaming (controlled by former MGM Grand President Alex Yemenidijian) for Rosemont and Waukegan Gaming. Trilliant’s bid was $435 million, Waukegan Gaming’s bid was $225 million and Midwest’s $125 million. Des Plaines and Rosemont, which are each near O’Hare Airport, had argued that they would be able to tap that large reservoir of travelers.

Rosemont’s seamy past and reputation kept it from being chosen.

“Rosemont is tainted by reputation,” commented one board member.

“Organized crime still controls much of the life of the village of Rosemont,” said another.

Four years ago the then-mayor of Rosemont, Mayor Don Stephens, was investigated by the state attorney general for alleged organized crime ties and the city later lost out on a casino, although not for that reason. The casino license was un-awarded during the interim.

Isle of Capri had bid over $500 million for the rights to the Rosemont casino, but was not implicated in any way in the alleged corruption.

One of the reasons Waukegan Gaming was passed up was also the “questionable associations” of some of its casino backers. Its revenue projections were also questioned.    Ironically, the board’s decision may not be popular with the citizens of Des Plaines itself, who in a 1994 referendum voted against a casino.

The city will reap $25 million annually from taxes, although to get the casino it promised to give $10 million of that to the state.

By Casino Connection Staff