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Five Mega-Casino Proposals from Four Developers Received by Chicago City Officials

A few days ago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office revealed that four development groups made a total of five proposals to build and operate a much-expected mega-casino in Chicago.

After the original bidding deadline has been delayed by a few months, Chicago officials have now identified four competitors in the casino bidding war. The city of Chicago revealed that Bally’s Corporation filed 2 proposals for sites to host the mega-casino venue that it intends to manage alone. The three other contestants have made proposals for one site each. They include HR Chicago, whose casino would be operated by Hard Rock International; Rivers Chicago, whose casino is supposed to be managed by Rush Street Gaming; and Rivers 78 Gaming, whose gambling venue would also be run by Rush Street Gaming.

For the time being, it remains unclear where the city’s mega-casino will be established, but analysts believe that a new mega-casino should be situated in or near downtown Chicago.

In a statement, Bally’s corporation revealed that the two proposed sites include the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center and the McCormick Place Truck Marshaling Yard. Rivers 78 Gaming has proposed South of the Loop as the site to host the casino project, while Rivers Chicago suggested the McCormick Place Lakeside Center as the most appropriate site to host the gambling venue.

The mega-casino project will have to clear major difficulties in the upcoming month, while the administration of Mayor Lightfoot takes the matter into consideration and chooses a winner.

Chicago Mayor Happy with the Received Casino License Applications

Mayor Lori Lightfoot shared that the submissions of the mega-casino project bid responses was an important step toward the development of the local casino resort that is supposed to encourage tourism and generate a fresh money flow for the city. She further noted that city officials will have to hold some discussions before making a decision about the winning casino bid.

For the time being, the city of Chicago has not disclosed the full list of potential investors in each of the received projects.

Despite Churchill Downs has been anticipated to also take part in the bidding war for the Chicago mega-casino, the company officially announced it would not do so. Instead, CEO Bill Carstanjen revealed that the company’s officials and its partner Rush Street Gaming had decided to make an investment in the further expansion of the Rivers Casino.

The revenue that is set to be generated by the Chicago mega-casino is considered an extremely important part of the $45-billion capital bill that was passed by local lawmakers two years ago. City officials have been hoping that the revenues will help them fill in the city’s budget holes in the years to come.

Supporting the mega-casino and entertainment complex project could be hard for Mayor Lightfoot, who at the time of the mayoral election promised to turn the city’s focus to helping struggling residents of the city. According to some research, the downtown part of Chicago would be the most appropriate to host the casino project. However, the study also argued that the project could face some difficulties to attract developers because of the high tax structure a casino owner would be subject to.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
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