Chicago reveals all; Rumblings from Macao; Riot in Vegas

The City of Chicago unveiled the applications for its casino license late Friday, effectively burying it at the end of a news cycle, in another triumph for Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) and her administration. The five submissions “are in line with our vision to develop a world-class experience in Chicago that will drive significant economic growth and employment opportunities for our communities,” said Lightfoot. The pitches break down alphabetically as follows:

Bally’s Corp. #1: To be sited at the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, “an economic sleeping giant,” this $1.8 billion, two-phase project would include 100 hotel suites, 20,000 square feet of expo space, three restaurants—curated by Paul Kahan and Erick Williams—and rooftop “green space.” The casino would feature 95 table games and 2,700 slots. A “Best of Chicago” theme is planned. In a dig at its rivals, Bally’s wrote, “As our flagship property, Bally’s Chicago has no conflicting interest in the Chicago market. We don’t operate, own or partially own casino properties located elsewhere within the Chicagoland market. Simply put, Bally’s is conflict-free.” Even so, the company noted that it is already licensed in the Prairie State. Bally’s predicts a 20% ROI on the project (and if it doesn’t reach it, won’t build Phase II), which will have 25% Black and Latino ownership. This plan really needs to pencil out economically, as most of the amenities are in the second stage.

Bally’s Corp. #2: The company’s alternative position is McCormick Place Truck Marshaling yard. The sales pitch and design are much the same as Bally’s #1. The site, adjacent to the former Michael Reese Hospital, will “provide a unique opportunity to capture 3+ million convention attendees each year.” The temporary casino would still be built near the Tribune printing plant. Otherwise, the stats are pretty much the same in terms of cost, gaming and amenities. Again, Phase II is contingent upon hitting 20% ROI ($200 million in annual cash flow) from Phase I. At that point, gaming positions would be upsized to 4,000 and hotel rooms to 500, much as with Bally’s #1. “Bally’s Chicago, where all the stars come out,” promises the executive summary.

HR Chicago: To be located at ONE Central on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the Hard Rock International proposal also targets convention country. It aims for “multi-modal connectivity” by water, road and by railroad links to both of Chicagoland’s major airports as well as Amtrak. Nearby traffic—100 million vehicles per year and impending connection to the CHI-Line transportation loop—are emphasized, as is existing infrastructure. In a possible dig at Bally’s, the Hard Rock team underlines its history of developing must-see casino attractions from the ground up. An adjoining Hard Rock Live auditorium is promised but other specifics are thin on the ground, not counting a promise to generate $151 million in gambling-tax revenues per year. (Mayor Lightfoot’s office says Hard Rock would be budgeted at $1.7 billion, have 500 hotel rooms, 3,400 slots, 166 tables and a spa.) The executive summary is long on pretty pictures, short on details. Hard Rock Int’l looks perilously like it’s resting on its laurels.

Rivers Chicago at McCormick: Former Lightfoot benefactor and current mayoral adversary (he’s opposed to sportsbooks at Chicago sports stadiums) Neil Bluhm has targeted this as his primary choice. Bluhm promises to reimagine McCormick Place and repurpose it to spur economic and tourism growth. His plans are ambitious: 480,000 square feet of gaming space (“in an umatched setting”), a 4,200-seat theater, 2,900 repurposed hotel rooms and 250 new ones, 12 restaurants, a food court, four bars, 2,600 slots and 190 table games. All that for $1.3 billion. The cost savings would obviously be achieved by repositioning existing infrastructure—including the theater—instead of building from scratch or constructing a temporary gaming hall. The casino would be umbilically connected with the extant convention center. Bluhm’s promises of restoration and deferred maintenance of a Windy City landmark are bound to find receptive ears at City Hall. He pledges “this site could generate as much total revenue as any other available site and exceed that of sites with more problematic access.” Another bonus: “ample parking.”

Rivers 78 Gaming: If thrift is the byword of Bluhm’s first proposal, his second is more expensive: $1.6 billion, including a temporary casino on a nearby riverboat. Sited in the mixed-use “78” development, this would offer 300 hotel rooms, eight restaurants, a food court, five bars, an observation tower, a revival of Mister Kelly’s nightclub, 2,600 one-armed bandits and 190 tables. The executive summary touts the location, along a half-mile of the Chicago River, and its vehicular access. It confidently predicts seven million visitors a year. “Construction can begin immediately,” proclaims the brochure and commits to 25% female and minority ownership. Promised is 450,000 square feet of casino floor with 3,300 gaming positions and “a world-class Sportsbook.” (Small wonder Bluhm wants to squelch competing stadiums.) The one non-convention-oriented proposal, Rivers 78 aims to act as a unifying agent for several downtown-area neighborhoods. Rush Street Gaming reminds city fathers that it has built six casinos, “all on time and on budget … [including] Rivers Des Plaines, which has the highest gaming revenue per gaming unit of any commercial casino in the country.” Best not remind City Hall that you foolishly sold it to Churchill Downs …

Public presentations will be made Dec. 16 and Lightfoot promises a decision “early” next year.

Macao‘s government has just floated the idea of an indefinite extension of existing casino concessions, at least until the re-tender process can be organized. Legal expert—and sometime Macanese academic—I. Nelson Rose has some musings on the subject. Like Wall Street, he believes “All current concession-holders will undoubtedly be renewed. No matter how bad the relationship between the US and China–short of a shooting war–economic ties require that everyone play nice.” He’s less certain about the duration of the renewals, perhaps 10 years in lieu of the original 20, and more certain that Beijing will assert itself and dictate 10% of casinos be shared with local investors.

“Beijing has told Macau to diversify,” Rose continues. “My guess is casino companies will be told if they want their concessions renewed, they will have to contribute tens of millions of dollars to build soccer stadiums on Hengqin [Island], and more public transport.” And casino companies had better prepare themselves for having a government representative on their boards of directors. Remember: You don’t own a casino in Macao. The government lets you build it at your expense and then lease it from Big Brother. “By the end of next year, these same government bureaucrats will be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Wynn Macau, MGM Grand Macau, and the Venetian Macau, the largest casino-hotel in the world,” Rose concludes, “What could possibly go wrong?”

A good employee is hard to find these days … except at as-yet-unopened Las Vegas strip joint Club Ice, which had to cancel auditions for exotic dancers after 1,000 women showed up at tryout site Blume Lounge in Henderson. The problem wasn’t just the number of applicants but the preponderance of lookie-lous. The fire marshal kiboshed the tryouts, in part fearing a fatal stampede if something untoward occurred. Yelled one panicked host, “This motherf***** too packed, y’all gotta back up. Y’all seen that s*** happen with Travis Scott the other night, y’all better pack up,” referring to a tragic crush of people (10 dead) at Astroworld. The blame clearly lies with audition organizers [sic], who rolled out the red carpet for spectators, who then ‘made it rain’ and generally caused a commotion. It was all very ‘ghetto’ and could easily have been avoided by anyone with an ounce of sense.

Jottings: Sports betting in Maryland is expected to incept in early January, after a stuttering licensure process. Five of six casinos (Rocky Gap Resort didn’t apply) have been dibbed but small-business owners complain they’re being discriminated against in the doling out of 60 (!) licenses … John “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is putting his money on the New England Patriots (+2300) to win the Super Bowl. The beloved Houston philanthropist made his wagers online: $750K with theScore and $1.25 million with Barstool Sports, and will be $46 million richer if Bill Belichik performs another miracle … Resorts World New York is so busted. The Queens casino was ignoring the Big Apple’s vaccine mandate for customers until a local TV station caught it in the act. Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D) took a blasé approach but Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) was unamused, ordering Resorts World to get into compliance, stat … Following in Scientific Games footsteps, International Game Technology is pondering a sale of its sports-betting business, as well as offloading of its digital businesses. New president of sports betting Joe Asher may soon find himself out of a job—again … The self-destructing Las Vegas Raiders are seven-point underdogs to the Dallas Cowboys this Thanksgiving with 50.5 over/under. Who needs a turkey when you have the Raiders being carved up?

Quote of the Day: “We can think of a lot better ways than this bill that [Stephen] Sweeney, D-Gloucester, can spend his remaining political capital during the lame-duck legislative session. The Senate president, for example, seems far less enthusiastic about moving a bill that would make the casinos’ complete, pandemic-era smoking ban permanent. How about an all-or-nothing bet? If this tax break passes, enact the smoking ban, too.”—from an editorial in the South Jersey Times querying Sweeney’s zeal to rejigger the PILOT fee program but his indifference to closing the casinos’ smoking loophole.