Chicago: Then there were five (?); LV Sands huddles with NY Mets

Or is it three? In the end, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) drew one heavyweight contender for the Windy City casino and a pair of middleweights. Two of the applicants made parlay bids, so the city could crow that it had “five” bidders for the high-tax concession. But despite Lightfoot’s stated aspiration of a Vegas-quality casino, none of the finalists has a Las Vegas return address. Obviously experiencing remorse for having sold its majority stake in Rivers Casino Des Plaines, politically connected Rush Street Gaming is back with two proposals: Rivers Chicago at McCormick and Rivers 78 Gaming. Also dibbing two sites was Bally’s Corp., while the lone heavyweight, Hard Rock International, would manage HR Chicago. None of the no-name bidders turned in paperwork, when it once looked as though they would be all Lightfoot had left.

The billion-dollar resort has yet to be sited, which will be an important factor in the selection processs. The winner also gets slot routes at the city’s two major airports. The casino will need to be a success right out of the chute, given its $160 million-$200 million annual tax liability. Two of the contenders, Rush Street and Bally, are eyeing McCormick Place, which would provide synergy with conventions and expos. Rush Street’s fallback position is a former railroad yard (blah!) in south Chicago, while Bally’s also covets the former Chicago Tribune printing plant. “It would become our flagship.” Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said of Chi-town casino. On the other side of the coin is non-bidder Bill Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM Resorts International, who maintains, “It’s a struggle how it all adds up.”

Perhaps knowing that Rush Street is the presumed favorite, given owner Neil Bluhm‘s tightness with Lightfoot, Bally’s is proposing to go above and beyond the minimum, pledging $1.6 billion in its quest. It’s already divvying up staffing, promising to fill 45% of jobs with women, 45% with minorities and 10% either veterans or people with disabilities (not that any of these categories are mutually exclusive). Also, 25% of ownership would be shared out with minority-owned firms. Not much is known about the Hard Rock proposal, although the company’s proximity in Gary might work against it.

No sooner does it emerge that Hard Rock International is eyeballing a New York City casino than Las Vegas Sands gets into the action. It was revealed over the weekend that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is trying to lure Sands to build a megaresort next to Citi Field. (Venetian Flushing?) All parties were trying to keep this on the QT but the news would out. Both Cohen and Sands clammed up when asked for comment. Sands isn’t the first to kick the tires on Citi Field: Genting Group, Bally’s Corp., and Wynn Resorts have all come and gone. Cohen “thinks that Willets Point needs to be addressed long term—it’s a mess,” said a Mets spokesman. “He has been hearing lots of ideas, and the Mets want to be part of those conversations to ensure the interests of our fans and the local community are well-represented.”

With Jacksonville having withered as a potential Sands casino site and Texas hopelessly stymied, CEO Rob Goldstein (above) is well advised to explore the Five Boroughs. The late Sheldon Adelson, ironically, was once mooted as a potential Mets investor, though he denied it. And Cohen’s asset-management company holds a (modest) position in LVS stock. Do we see some synergy at work?

September was a near-record month for Tennessee sports books, as OSB operators hauled in $25.5 million in gross gaming revenue. Market leader was Tennessee Titans-affiliated Bet MGM with $9 million. After it came FanDuel (a hair under $9 million), DraftKings ($5 million) and Barstool Sports, debuting with $1 million. Barstool’s number was quite impressive considering that well-tenured WynnBet, Twin Spires and home-grown Action 24/7 barely registered. Despite having 32% of handle, loose-holding DraftKings underperformed, followed by BetMGM (27% of handle) and FanDuel (26.5%).

Tomorrow is Election Day, and in New Hampshire voters in Nashua and Portsmouth will be asked if they approve of sports books in their cities. We hope they vote “aye.” The other race of consequence is in Virginia. No, not the gubernatorial contest but the ballot question in Richmond on whether to ratify the city’s choice of Urban One and Peninsula Pacific to build and run a casino in the capitol city. True, the selection was a juice job but even juice jobs have merit sometimes and the half-billion-dollar Urban One casino would be a major enhancement of Richmond’s tourist appeal. It would also improve the private-sector casino industry’s rather dismal record of minority ownership. So we urge—not without some ambivalence—a “yes” vote.

Sports betting limped out of the starting blocks last weekend in Louisiana, started by former New Orleans Saints QB Bobby Hebert, who presciently placed a bet on his old team against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The wager was made at Harrah’s New Orleans, one of four casinos empowered to take bets. The others were Horseshoe Bossier City, Boomtown Harvey and L’Auberge du Lac. “We’ve had calls every day for months asking about the timing,” said Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns. Judging by the number of sports books yet to be approved, the calls won’t stop coming soon.

It was three strikes and you’re out for former Border Patrol agent Norman Antuzzi, who called in a bomb threat to Presque Isle Downs in 2017. Considering the cost to the racino ($100K) and the need for evacuation of the premises, the terrorist wannabe got off easy: one to six months in the slammer. “It is a fair sentence,” said defense attorney Tyler Lindquist with a straight face. He claimed Antuzzi “meant no harm” by making the bomb threat. Is there such a thing as a harmless bomb threat? Antuzzi’s defense seems to have hinged on the contention that he was put up to it by a bartender at Presque Isle Downs. A prize character, Antuzzi has previously been in trouble with the authorities for a 2016 DUI and for running over an 83 year old man’s foot with his car in 2017. Did we mention that he worked in security for the racino? Presque Isle sure knows how to pick ’em.