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

The South Suburban and Waukegan casino licenses each have two bidders left. On Wednesday, the list for the south suburb license was reduced from four to two by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB).

Wind Creek LLC Homewood East Hazel Crest and Matteson are the final two candidates for the North Residential. Meanwhile, Full House Resorts and Lakeside Casino LLC are also competing for the certificate in Waukegan.

The process has been challenging, which is evident to many. Various creation teams applied for licenses in October 2019, but as of two years later, they had yet to receive a response.

That being said, we now have a definite timeline for the decision-making process of the IGB. The next step in the application process is approximately around andrsquo.

South Suburban candidates may provide to IGB on October 28.

At a specific meeting to be held by the IGB on Thursday, Wind Creek and South Suburban Matteson will present their cases.

The administrator of the IGB, Marcus Fruchter, indicated this year that the presentations are free of charge. Yet, we would expect every group to take the opportunity to bolster their stance in a highly competitive bidding process like this.

Over the last year, both groups were greeted with positive news. The IGB had the privilege to send three contenders to the final round, but chose to only send two instead. This will certainly improve the odds for the remaining bids.

Between now and the beginning of January: Last proposals

Waukegan will not conduct a meeting similar to the one held on October 28, dedicated to the southern cities, due to a lower number of applicants. However, applicants from Waukegan and southern residences are still required to submit their final proposals to the board before January begins.

In these meetings, board members ask questions to the participants, and some of the most recent proposed amendments may offer insightful answers to those inquiries.

First January: Last decision’s preliminary deadline

Fruchter announced at a September board meeting that the IGB will make a final decision on each license six months post July 9. It was on July 9 that the IGB employed a consultant to assess the applicants.

In addition to determining the winning bids, the IGB will also assess the preliminary suitability of the winners. This does not conclude the process.

A critical phase in the IGB approval process is the preliminary suitability. The suitability decisions for Rockford and Williamson County were made well after we had knowledge of the bidder’s identity.

Once we have a suitability finding, all that remains are final approvals. Also, a casino can start construction once they are considered acceptable, based on their plans to open temporary facilities.

It took a while to reach this stage, but the processes for the Waukegan and south suburban casinos are finally gaining momentum.

Temporary Hard Rock Rockford game is about to start.

A few years ago, Illinois introduced six new casino licenses. In early 2021, the IGB selected Hard Rock to hold the license for Rockford.

By the end of this year, a temporary Hard Rock casino is set to open in Rockford. Hard Rock is referring to this as “the first act.”

The temporary casino, which will be situated at the former location of Giovanni’s restaurant, is set to be open for a period of 18 to 24 months, providing 736 slot machines.

In July, Hard Rock announced that the makeshift blackjack would premiere in October 2021.

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