Rosemont says hands are off casino bid

Rosemont officials hoped to distance themselves from a local casino bid before gambling regulators today as Des Plaines officials argued their site will spur more jobs and tax dollars.

"Rosemont will not be the source of any problems for the gaming board," Mayor Bradley Stephens pledged before the Illinois Gaming Board. "We want to be a host community that will set the standard."

However, developer Neil Bluhm argued Des Plaines is really the better location because it will lead to at least two new hotels and more new jobs than an already developed Rosemont site. Both would be located off the Tri-State Tollway, I-294, near O'Hare International Airport, drawing gamblers from Chicago and the Northwest suburbs. Gamblers are expected to spend a total of just under half a billion dollars a year at either proposed casino.

"Not only are we your best bet, we are your least risky bet," Bluhm said.

The pitches came during lengthy hearings on two of the three remaining bids for the state's last casino license, which was held up in legal wrangling for years after authorities alleged Rosemont's former Emerald Casino bid had mob ties.

Illinois Gaming Board members will hear a bid from Waukegan this afternoon. Officials with the Waukegan proposal have argued their casino will benefit an economically challenged region while drawing gamblers from across the border in Wisconsin.

Rosemont offered the top price for the license, $435 million, in the gaming board's first round of bidding on Nov. 14. Waukegan has bid $225 million and Midwest Gaming in Des Plaines bid $100 million.

Several south suburban proposals were tossed out on Nov. 14 after the first round of bidding, leaving Waukegan, Des Plaines and Rosemont to battle for the license.

Bluhm, who operates several casinos, was asked Monday by gaming board members about his bid compared to Rosemont's top offer. He implied Rosemont's price may be off and could jeopardize the casino's future stability.

"We can't understand how they came up with their bid," Bluhm said to laughter at the packed meeting. "Maybe they made a mistake."

Equity partners for the Rosemont proposal said the proposal is solid.

A former MGM executive heads up the Rosemont bid and Stephens hoped to portray the village as relinquishing any ties to the effort.

Stephens said the village board will pass ordinances barring any employee from working at the casino and any village vendor from contracting with the casino. Stephens also pledged to ban himself and village trustees from gambling at the casino.

Following the presentations, the gaming board is expected to begin a second round of bidding. It remains unclear when the final license will be awarded, but it could come by the end of the year.

Lawmakers are hoping the bid money will help alleviate at staggering $2 billion-plus budget shortfall this year. Officials for the Rosemont and Des Plaines bid said they could have a casino up and running within 15 to 17 months.