After more than two years of waiting, six Illinois casino applicants will present to the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) on Oct. 13, vying for two casino licenses and hoping to gain closure.
The finalist of the South Suburbs and Waukegan casino licenses likely won’t be decided today. The hope and dream are that two Illinois communities will see more jobs and more revenue come to their towns beginning in mid-January.
You can listen to the IGB’s special board meeting here, beginning at 9 a.m. CST.
Who are the Illinois casino bidders?
The applicants for the future casino license in Waukegan are:
- Full House Resorts Inc. d/b/a American Place
- Lakeside Casino LLC d/b/a North Point Casino
Four applicants are competing for the sole casino license for the South Suburban region. The bidders are:
- Southland LIVE LLC d/b/a Southland Live
- South Suburban Matteson
- Wind Creek LLC Homewood East Hazel Crest
- Southland Ho-Chunk Entertainment LLC Lynwood
Breakdown of the 6 Illinois casino applicants
American Place Casino Waukegan
- Bidder: Full House Resorts
- Date Filed: Oct. 28, 2019
- Temporary Casino: Yes, near Fountain Square shopping area
- Development Cost: $375 million
- Permanent Jobs: 1,858
- Casino Size: 75,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,640 slots and 100 table games
- Sportsbook: Yes
- Other Features: Four-star “mansion” hotel, entertainment center, bars, gourmet restaurants and helicopter pad
North Point Casino Waukegan
- Bidder: Lakeside Casino LLC
- Partner: Warner Gaming
- Date Filed: Sept. 1, 2020
- Temporary Casino: Yes, within five to six months of approval
- Development Cost: $420 million
- Permanent Jobs: 1,180 positions
- Casino Size: 81,500 square feet of gaming space with 2,000 gaming positions
- Sportsbook: 5,300-square-foot sportsbook, with mobile wagering
- Other Features: Outdoor amphitheater, restaurants, hotel, spa, salon and rooftop pool
Southland LIVE Casino Calumet City
- Bidder: Southland LIVE LLC
- Partner: Delaware North
- Date Filed: Oct. 28, 2019
- Temporary Casino: Yes, at former Carson Pirie Scott location within 90 days of receiving OK.
- Permanent Location: Near River Oaks Center, 159th Street and Torrence Avenue in Calumet City (within 2 miles of the Indiana border)
- Development Cost: $275 million
- Permanent Jobs: 1,429 full- and part-time positions
- Casino Size: 150,000-square-foot casino complex, including 1,200 slots and 35 table games
- Sportsbook: Yes
- Other Features: Hotel, music venue, restaurants, lounges. childcare center and after-school programs
South Suburban Casino Matteson
- Bidder: South Suburban Development LLC
- Date Filed: Aug. 26, 2020
- Partner: Choctaw Nation
- Temporary Casino: Yes
- Permanent Location: Former Lincoln Mall, near I-57 and I-30, in Matteson
- Development Cost: Unknown
- Permanent Jobs: 609 permanent jobs
- Casino Size: 123,000 square feet of gaming space, 1,300 slots and 42 table games
- Sportsbook: Unknown
- Other Features: Hotel, indoor pool and spa, indoor golf, multi-purpose event center, upscale restaurants and multi-cultural heritage exhibit
Wind Creek Casino Homewood/East Hazel Crest
- Bidder: Wind Creek Hospitality
- Date Filed: Oct. 25, 2019
- Partner: Poarch Band of Creek Indians
- Temporary Casino: No
- Permanent Location: On property near East Hazel Crest and Homewood, at the interchange of I-80/294
- Development Cost: $440 million
- Permanent Jobs: 800 full-time “equivalent” positions
- Casino Size: 69,190 square feet of gaming space, 1,350 slots and 56 table games
- Sportsbook: Yes
- Other Features: Four-diamond hotel, restaurants, bars and entertainment center and skyline lounge
Southland Lynwood Casino
- Bidder: Southland Ho-Chunk Entertainment LLC
- Date Filed: Oct. 28, 2019
- Partner: Ho-Chunk Nation
- Temporary Casino: Yes
- Permanent Location: East of Illinois 394, near Glenwood-Dyer Road interchange
- Development Cost: $300 million
- Permanent Jobs: 1,100 full-time jobs
- Casino Size: 1,500 slots and 70 table games
- Sportsbook: Yes
- Other Features: Hotel, restaurants, bars, retail shopping center, performance area, sports complex and parking complex
What happened to Rivers Casino Waukegan’s application?
Initially, Waukegan had three applicants; however, Churchill Downs (CDI) yanked the “Rivers Casino Waukegan” bid on Sept. 29.
The announcement came hours after the Chicago Bears signed a purchasing agreement to buy CDI’s Arlington International Racecourse.
IGB administrator Marcus Fruchter said during a special session on Sept. 30:
“I need to announce that yesterday afternoon, I was informed by representatives from CDI-RSG Waukegan LLC that it no longer will be pursing the opportunity to operate a casino located in the city of Waukegan and that it is requesting leave to withdraw its application for an owner’s license. That leaves two applicants for the sole casino license to be located in the city of Waukegan.”
