Artist rendering of the proposed Des Plaines casino
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Des Plaines wins 10th casino license
By Rob Olmstead | Daily Herald Staff
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The Illinois Gaming Board today awarded its 10th casino license to Des Plaines, after a more-than decade-long legal battle that kept the license dormant.
The selection will puts a casino in the near Northwest suburbs for the first time. The closest other gaming site is in Elgin, and is currently the state's biggest tax-earning casino.
The city's win comes after officials sweetened their bid. In the last round of public bidding, Rosemont led in terms of dollars, with the company seeking the casino, Trilliant Gaming, offering $435 million upfront. Des Plaines' casino-seeker, Midwest Gaming, offered $100 million upfront, and Waukegan's bidder had offered $225.
But after those initial public bids, the horse-trading with the gaming board began in earnest behind closed doors.
Des Plaines city leaders offered to forego some of their local tax dollar receipts and instead give the money to the state in an effort to land the casino.
The initial agreement on how to split up the city's share of gaming tax revenue called for giving the state $94 million over 11 years, with a present estimated value of $65 million.
The new agreement called for giving $300 million to the state over 30 years, with a present estimated value of $125 million.
The agreement also calls for upping the payments to disadvantaged communities to address one of the stated goals of granting casino licenses: to aid economically disadvantaged areas.
Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia said Monday he was sure his city would get the license all along.
"I told other mayors, pretty much anyone who was around me, that I was pretty confident," he said. "If you're expecting a lot of people, we're the best location."
Arredia expects construction on the casino to begin soon and that it will take about 16 months to complete.
"So the first phase could be open in late 2010," he said. "I expect the second place that will include restaurants and shops will begin a little later."
Elgin Mayor Ed Schock, in contrast, called the gaming board's decision "bizarre," especially when he and other affected mayors testified that a Des Plaines casino would "cannibalize" profits from riverboats in Elgin and Aurora.
"It just doesn't make sense, it's not a question of sour grapes, it just doesn't make sense, from any point of view," Schock said.
He predicts that the Grand Victoria Riverboat Casino, which has already seen the drop fall between 20 and 25 percent due to the smoking ban and sputtering economy, could take another nosedive - as much as 25 percent - since many gamblers will no longer make the drive to Elgin, if Des Plaines is closer.
A better idea, Schock said, would have been if the gaming board approved a license in Waukegan. This would have drawn customers from Lake County, McHenry County and brought in new gamblers from Wisconsin, he said. The award comes after Rosemont was initially supposed to receive a casino back in 1995. But Illinois Gaming Board investigators derailed that project after it was found that secret Emerald Casino investors had ties to the mob. That touched off a legal battle which culminated in Emerald having its license revoked and ensuing court battles that didn't end until late 2007.
During the fight, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan alleged that Rosemont and its late mayor, Don Stephens, both appeared to have links to organized crime. Stephens went to his grave in April 2007 denying the charges, but Madigan continued to express reservations about Rosemont even after the town again made the final three in this latest license auction.
Revenue from a casino would double what Des Plaines currently is able to spend each year on capital projects, according to the city's analysis. Inflation could increase the take over the years.
Arredia wants that money to go to flood prevention projects, he said.
