Off-track betting coming to Prospect Hts.

Mayor Nick Helmer is looking forward to watching the May 5 Kentucky Derby at the new off-track betting operation right in Prospect Heights.

There will be a big tent party at Players Bar and Grill, 1250 S. River Road near Milwaukee Avenue, Helmer said Thursday, and Hawthorne Race Course will handle wagering.

The city council approved the OTB application from Hawthorne, and as soon as the Illinois Racing Board signs off, construction can start on the 2,000-square-foot addition to the Players bar.

The racing board will take up the OTB on April 24.

The city expects to garner at least $60,000 a year in taxes from the wagering as well as taxes from additional food and drink sold at Players.

The $60,000 figure is based on what Buffalo Grove collected when Hawthorne operated in that village, said Helmer.

That facility was at Adam’s Roadhouse, 301 N. Milwaukee Ave., which went into receivership.

Hawthorne has been seeking another location in Buffalo Grove, and one possibility is the Village Bar & Grill at the golf course that Buffalo Grove owns.

Jeff Kras, chief financial officer of Hawthorne, said at an earlier Prospect Heights council meeting that the company would like to operate in Prospect Heights and Buffalo Grove if both could be worked out because the demographics of the communities are different. He said at that time the company had an agreement in principle with the village of Buffalo Grove.

An update on the effect of the Prospect Heights decision on a facility in Buffalo Grove was not available Thursday.