Officials: 10th license winner coming soon
Officials are confident the state's 10th casino license - which has been tied up in litigation for the last decade - finally will be given out this year.
Sixty applications for the lucrative and final gambling license have been sent out so far, said officials from a firm in charge of evaluating suitors before the Illinois Gaming Board makes the final call.
"There's been a high degree of interest, which is good," said David Luwisch, a director at Credit Suisse, said Wednesday.
Applications are due Oct. 14, and the next day Credit Suisse will announce the entities that bid, how many millions they are prepared to ante up, and proposed project locations before whittling the list down to three finalists.
From there, the finalists will have 10 days to present their plans to the board.
The 10th license was initially awarded to erect the Emerald Casino in Rosemont but it was revoked in 1997 after state regulators determined some of its proposed investors had mob ties.
Also Wednesday, leaders of Elgin's Grand Victoria Casino took the first formal step in asking that their license be renewed for four years, the maximum under law.
"We recognize that the license is a privilege, not a right," said Peter Liguori, chairman of the Grand Victoria executive committee, before for showing a 16-minute video featuring Elgin Mayor Ed Schock and other city leaders reflecting on how the casino has benefitted the city and Kane County and helped rescue a dying downtown since opening 14 years ago.
The gaming board will revisit the application next month and has never turned down a renewal request, said Michael Fries, the board's chief legal counsel.
Board member Joe Moore Jr. was impressed with the casino's efforts to recruit and retain local business vendors along with minorities and women.
For example, nearly half the casino's management staff is female, and the casino held a minority business networking event in August attended by more than 50 firms.
"You really set the bench mark," Moore said.