What’s Next For Remaining South Suburban, Waukegan Casino License Bidders

Written By Joe Boozell on October 22, 2021Last Updated on December 8, 2021
next steps waukegan casino

There are two bidders apiece remaining for the South Suburban and Waukegan casino licenses. On Wednesday, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) cut the list for the south suburb license from four to two.

The last two North Residential candidates are Wind Creek LLC Homewood East Hazel Crest and Matteson, while Full House Resorts and Lakeside Casino LLC are also vying for the certificate in Waukegan.

This has been a difficult process, as many people are aware. In October 2019, many of these creation teams submitted applications for licenses, but two years later they still hadn’t received a response.

Having said that, we now have a clear timeframe for the IGB’s decision-making process. What will happen next in the application procedure is around andrsquo.

South Suburban candidates may provide to IGB on October 28.

Wind Creek and South Suburban Matteson will make their cases to the table at a particular meeting that the IGB will hold on Thursday.

This year, Marcus Fruchter, the administrator of the IGB, pointed out that the presentations are free. However, we & rsquo would anticipate that each group will seize the chance to support their position in a bidding process as competitive as this one.

This past year, the two groups received good news. The IGB had the option of sending three candidates to the final round, but instead decided to send just two. The remaining bids will undoubtedly have better chances as a result.

Between now and the beginning of January: Last proposals

Waukegan won’t hold a meeting like the one on October 28 that was devoted to the south cities because it had fewer applicants than the latter. The Waukegan and southern residential applicants must, nevertheless, present the board with their last proposals between now and the beginning of January.

During these meetings, board members pose questions to the participants, and some of the last proposed amendments may provide thoughtful responses to those queries.

First January: Last decision’s preliminary deadline

At a September board meeting, Fruchter said that the IGB will have a final decision for each license six months after July 9. July 9 was the date that the IGB hired a consultant to evaluate the applicants.

And it doesn’t end it, either. The IGB will determine the winners’ preliminary suitability and & ldquo in addition to winning bids.

A crucial stage in the IGB & rsquo, approval process is preliminary suitability. Suitability conclusions for Rockford and Williamson County were made long after we were aware of the bidder & rsquo’s identity.

All that & rsquo is left are final approvals once we have a suitability finding. Additionally, a casino can begin construction once they are deemed acceptable, depending on whether they intend to open up temporary facilities.

It & rsquo took some time to get to this point, but the Waukegan and south suburban casino processes are finally picking up speed.

Temporary Hard Rock Rockford game is about to start.

Illinois added six new casino licenses a few years ago. The IGB chose Hard Rock for the Rockford license in early 2021.

And, by the end of this year, a temporary Hard Rock casino is set to open in Rockford. Hard Rock is referring as an & ldquo, the first act. & rdquo,

The temporary casino will be open for 18 to 24 months. It will be located at the old site of Giovanni’s restaurant and feature736 slots.

Hard Rock announced in July that the makeshift blackjack would debut in October 2021.

There aren’t many days left in October, We & rsquo. Therefore, either this will happen soon or the renovations at Giovanni & rsquo are taking longer than anticipated.

Pictures taken from an AP report
Boozell, Joe Avatar
authored by

Boozell, Joe

Boozell, Joe has also been a college sports writer for NCAA.com since 2015. His work has also appeared in Bleacher Report, FoxSports.com and NBA.com. Growing up, Boozell squared off against both Anthony Davis and Frank Kaminsky in the Chicagoland basketball scene … you can imagine how that went.

View all posts by Boozell, Joe