Chicago’s long quest to land an integrated gaming resort for the nation’s third-largest metropolitan area officially begins Thursday when potential operators can understand what city leaders want from a developer.
The city made its request for proposals available on its website and interested parties have until Aug. 23 to submit their ideas for a resort that would include a casino, up to 500 hotel rooms, convention and meeting space, restaurants and bars, and entertainment venues.
Chicago isn’t limiting operators to a location within the city’s jurisdiction, saying wants the developer to create an entertainment destination that will “enhance the urban fabric” of its surrounding neighborhood.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
“I’m not going to put my finger on the location scale, everyone that is a serious bidder knows this inside and out,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a virtual media briefing Tuesday. Her comments were embargoed until the RFP was posted.
“There’s no one true location and we’re going to work with them and push them to be innovative and creative,” Lightfoot said of the potential bidders that she hopes will be major Las Vegas casino operators. “We will work with local stakeholders and bring them along on the journey to make sure the use is responsive to local concerns.”
Under the timeline, the city plans to “negotiate” with one or more of the qualified applicants who will also present their ideas in community meetings and to the City Council. The city hopes to select the final applicant in early 2022 with the permanent casino opening in 2025.
Chicago, with more than 9.5 million residents, represents one of the largest untapped gaming opportunities in the country. Lightfoot said the integrated resort could ultimately boost Chicago’s tourism market, which attracts 60 million visitors annually.
The downtown casino was part of the 2019 legislative package that saw Illinois lawmakers approve the nation’s largest gaming industry expansion to an existing market in more than a decade.
Gaming industry appeal
Lightfoot expects high interest among casino operators and developers in the RFP process based on the response the city saw when it announced a request for information on ideas for the integrated casino resort.
According to the summary that was released in December, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, Hard Rock International, and Illinois-based Rush Street Gaming were among the 11 companies, real estate developers, consultants, and a neighborhood group that provided input to what the city termed as the first step in the planning process.
“We’re aware that people have been coming to Chicago since the legislation passed and they’ve been scouting lots of different opportunities,” Lightfoot said.
Among the opportunities for the winning bidder will be a license to operate a temporary casino for up to 24 months – which is subject to a 12-month extension – until the permanent casino opens.
Also, the casino operator can operate slot machines at the city’s two major airports – Chicago Midway International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International. Between the casino and the airports, the combined number of gaming positions (tables games and slot machines) allowed is 4,000.
Lightfoot doesn’t believe the airport slot machines will take away from the casino destination.
“The main show will be the land-based casino. The airport is another option for additional revenue,” she said.
‘Studied the gaming market’
City officials participating in the media briefing did not provide any estimates on the potential tax revenues or gaming revenues that a downtown Chicago casino could attract.
In 2019, when the city went back to the State Legislature to get the proposed casino’s gaming tax rate reduced, Lightfoot said the casino could bring in $1.2 billion in annual taxes to the state and city.
Lightfoot said Tuesday casino revenues are not the primary resource in gaming destinations and integrated resort markets, such as Las Vegas, City leaders are just as interested in the non-gaming amenities and attractions.
“We’ve studied how the gaming market has shifted over time and we know it’s not just about gaming,” Lightfoot said. “It’s all about all the other amenities or gaming-plus. We want to make sure we’re in on that and we want to see that in the proposals. Even if you don’t want to game you can go to a concert or world-class restaurant that’s what we envision.”
RFP Requirements
Among some of the requirements for the eventual casino operator include a 26% minority business enterprise participation, 6% women business enterprise participation, and having Chicago-based businesses participate in the design and construction of the project.
Illinois currently has 10 casino properties and a video gaming market which is one of the nation’s largest with nearly 38,000 games in more than 7,200 locations statewide.
Rush Street operates Rivers Des Plains Casino, which is roughly 20 miles north of downtown. Lightfoot said the company wouldn’t have a hometown advantage.
“We want to make sure who we partner with is serious about Chicago and the opportunities that are here,” Lightfoot said. “We are excited that we’ve attracted the interest of big names in the gaming world. We want to see someone that takes this opportunity to build upon what we already have. It’s really exciting and we hope that interest continues.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
