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7 firms, 5 towns vie for casino license Tribune staff reporters January 20, 2004, 3:00 PM CST Seven casino operators, including three that want to locate in Rosemont, have filed bids with the Illinois Gaming Board for the 10th and last gaming license available in the state, officials announced today. As expected, Rosemont and four other suburbs are in the running. The other contenders are Country Club Hills, Des Plaines, Summit and Waukegan. "I'm very pleased with the number, that we have seven. I think it's good for the people of the state of Illinois. This has been a very competitive and open process, and now let's see what the numbers say," said Elzie Higginbottom, chairman of the Gaming Board. The dollar amount each candidate bid is expected to be disclosed Jan. 29. The Gaming Board is to select three finalists in February and announce a winner in March. Rosemont, a northwest suburb with an enviable location -- immediately east of O'Hare International Airport -- had three suitors, officials said: Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming. The other candidates announced today were: € Southland Development Group, a partnership of Merit Management Group LLC and Gatling Community Development Inc., seeking to open a casino in south suburban Country Club Hills. € Wynn Midwest, a partnership of Wynn Resorts Limited and Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC, for northwest suburban Des Plaines. € Mandalay Hyatt LLC, a partnership of Hyatt Development Corp. and Mandaly Resort Group, for southwest suburban Summit. € Harrah's Entertainment, which with S-L Partners is touting north suburban Waukegan. Attorneys for Rosemont said today the level of interest expressed in that community bolsters their arguments the casino should go there. The license has been held by Emerald Casino Inc., whose right to offer gambling in Illinois was revoked by state regulators in 2001 after investors allegedly lied to them and allowed shareholders with alleged ties to organized crime. Emerald has denied the allegations. Rosemont's pursuit of the casino got a boost last month when the Illinois Appellate Court held the Gaming Board did not have a right to deny Emerald's application to relocate in that suburb. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which is overseeing the sale of the license belonging to the bankrupt Emerald Casino, would have to sign off on any deal approved by the Gaming Board. A bankruptcy judge also still must decide if Rosemont should be reimbursed $45 million for building a parking garage for the Emerald Casino. Emerald is selling its license under the terms of a deal it reached with Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan in November. The deal allows investors who are not accused of wrongdoing by the Gaming Board to get their money back from Emerald while the company's top officials forfeit $20.6 million. The sale of the Emerald license is expected to bring in about $350 million, money that Gov. Rod Blagojevich hoped would help with the state's roughly $5 billion deficit. After the license is sold and proceeds are divided among investors and creditors, the state receives the remaining funds. Rothschild Inc., a financial adviser to Emerald that is helping with the license sale, will analyze the proposals, Higginbottom said. The Gaming Board will pick three finalists Feb. 23. Those three will make presentations to the board during a public meeting March 1. The board will identify a leading bidder March 5, an auction will be held March 10 and a winner will be announced March 15. "The Gaming Board has always taken the position that it would receive any and all bids from all communities in the state of Illinois, so all communities have an opportunity to bid and we expect that all communities will be looked at equally as we move through this process," Higginbottom said. Joseph Schorer, a lawyer for Emerald, said the company thinks it's a "good step that this process is moving forward.'' The Associated Press, WGN-Ch. 9 and Tribune staff reporter Courtney Flynn contributed to this story. Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune |
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