Rosemont bid for casino nearly double Waukegan's
The village of Rosemont came out swinging Wednesday, with its casino company outpacing six other companies vying for the state's 10th casino license. The company, Trilliant Gaming Illinois LLC, set out a starting bid of $435 million, nearly double the amount offered by a company wanting to put a gaming site in Waukegan.
Five other companies put in bids below that, including the lowest of $60 million.
The dollar amount, Illinois Gaming Board members have always said, is just one factor in the awarding of the casino. Minority employment, incentives to local governments and company expertise and background also play a role.
But Rosemont's opening bid sets the pace, and creates a thorny problem for the Illinois Gaming Board, which has always publicly said that Rosemont, which lost its last casino before it even got up and running, was free to be the host site of another applying company.
Rosemont lost the casino after some Emerald Casino investors were found to have mob connections. Attorney General Lisa Madigan went so far as to say there were apparent links between the mob and the town itself, an allegation the late Mayor Don Stephens furiously denied.
Should Illinois Gaming Board members decide to bypass Rosemont for a much lower bidder, they face the prospect of a Rosemont or Trilliant lawsuit, which could again tie up the much-needed revenue of the 10th license for an undetermined time.
But the bids entered Wednesday are not the final bids. The board will narrow the field to three finalists and then begin negotiating with those three companies in an effort to drive up the bids and incentives for the state.
The companies submitting bids are:
Calumet Gaming LLC
Principals: Joe Canfora, Gary Grasso
Location: Torrence Avenue one mile north of I-80/94 Interchange, Calumet City
Opening bid: $150 million
Midwest Gaming
Principals: High Plains Gaming, Neil Bluhm, Andrew Bluhm, Leslie Bluhm, Meredith Bluhm-Wolf, Greg Carlin, four Bluhm family trusts
Location: Northwest quadrant of Des Plaines River Road and Devon in Des Plaines
Opening bid: $100 million
Trilliant Gaming Ill. LLC
Principals: Alex Yemenidjian, Armenco Holdings LLC, Onex Corp., Onex Partners GP Inc.
Location: West of River Road between Balmoral and Bryn Mawr fronting I-294 in Rosemont
Opening bid: $435 million
Hawthorne Gaming LLC
Principals: Joe Canfora, Estate of Thomas Carey
Location: 3501 S. Laramie in Stickney, on or near existing Hawthorne Racetrack
Opening bid: $150 million
CCH Gaming Partners LLC
Principals: Lafayette Gatling, Marguerite Gatling, Michael Reschke, Steven Craig
Location: Cicero Ave on 167 St. near convergence of I-57 and I-80 (Country Club Hills)
Opening bid: $60 million
Waukegan Gaming LLC
Principals: SL BDK Waukegan LLC (Richard Stein, Alan Ludwig, Charles Bidwell Edward Duffy, Jeffrey Krol); Clairvest Group Inc. Gaming Investment Fund LLC; Michael Pizzuto
Location: Former Lakehurst mall site near Waukegan Road and Route 120 in Waukegan
Opening bid: $225 million
South Side Casino LLC
Principals: David Handlon, James Griffin, Salish Gabhawala, William Krug, Johnathan Harris, John Argianis, William Tsourapas
Location: NW corner of interchange adjacent to I-80 and 294 in Harvey
Opening bid: $175 million
Bid: Rosemont's offer creates thorny issue