OTBs open Wednesday in Prospect Hts., Glendale Hts.
The Illinois Racing Board approved off-track betting facilities in Prospect Heights and Glendale Heights on Tuesday, with both expected to open today.
The Prospect Heights site is at Players Pub & Grill, 1250 S. River Road near Milwaukee Avenue. The Glendale Heights OTB is in the Shark City sports bar, 2240 Bloomingdale Road.
Jeff Kras, chief financial officer for Hawthorne Race Course, said the company plans a “soft” opening at both locations Wednesday.
Except for special occasions, wagering will be held 11 a.m. to midnight or a little later, each day.
“We are very excited to be in both of these venues,” Kras said. “I think they’re wonderful locations and great partners, and both municipalities are willing to work with us to promote the entertainment.”
Betting in the Prospect Heights OTB will take place in a dining room near the Players Pub bar until an addition is complete late in the summer.
Prospect Heights Mayor Nick Helmer said the OTB will provide entertainment for people staying in the city’s six nearby hotels.
“They will have 30 to 35 televisions and betting on national races, not just local,” he said. “It’s a synergistic effort that will bring more business to both the pub and grill and the OTB.”
John Fiandaca, an owner of Players, said the 2,000-square-foot addition to the pub will be “a state of the art facility that will mirror the Platinum Club at the racetrack” in Cicero.
The mayor is looking forward not only to the estimated $60,000 the city will get from taxes on wagers but also the taxes on additional food and drink sold by Players.
Hawthorne is aiming to be running smoothly at both sites in time for the Kentucky Derby on May 5, Kras said. The Prospect Heights OTB will have a tent for that day’s events.
In Glendale Heights, a portion of the existing bar area has been sectioned off for OTB betting stations. Shark City owner Don Moscato Jr. said there will be a four- or five-person teller cage and 10 screen-activated machines for patrons to place bets.
“The advantage I have is I’m a live (music) venue,” he said Tuesday.
“I get between 5,000 and 6,000 people a month that come to my bar. I have 5,000 to 6,000 more opportunities every month for people that might want to to be introduced to horse racing. It’s going to be an enhancement to a down industry.”
Joanne Kalchbrenner, Glendale Heights’ director of community development, said some OTBs have shown to be relatively successful.
But if the new location closes like the one in Yorkville did, it wouldn’t harm Glendale Heights since the new OTB is just a complement to an existing facility, she said.