Illinois Gaming Board Finally Fills Casino License With Midwest

The state of Illinois was coming dangerously close to making the same mistake that Kansas made. They might wait too long and then have the economy worsen before they fill their casino licenses.

On Monday, they alleviated a lot of that worry when the state Gaming Board voted 3-1 in favor of giving the final casino license to Midwest Gaming. The move came as somewhat of a shock because there were higher bidders out there.

In fact, Midwest was the lowest bidder among the three finalists with an upfront licensing fee of $125 million. The rest of their fee would be paid in yearly installments of $10 million a year for thirty years.

Waukegan Gaming had the second highest bid of $225 million. Trilliant Gaming, who wanted to bring a casino to Rosemont, came in with a whopping $435 million offer. The area was not right for a casino, however, according to one of the Board members.

Of the 3-1 vote, only the Rev. Eugene Winkler, voted against Midwest getting the license. Actually, he did not vote for any of the proposals which he felt all had their flaws.

Waukegan was the area that was most upset by being denied the license. The mayor of Waukegan expressed his displeasure with the decision, citing that the community was counting on the casino to help redevelop the area.

December 23, 2008
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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