BY AMY LANIER WOLF, Times of Northwest Indiana, Medill News Service
Faced with a potential threat across the border if a casino comes to Chicago, gaming authorities in Northwest Indiana are hopeful their businesses will not be threatened.
A bill pending in the Illinois Legislature could add three casinos -- two riverboats anywhere in the state and one land-based in Chicago -- to nine existing gaming boats in Illinois.
The legislation passed the state Senate in September and has to receive House approval before going to the governor for consideration.
Despite speculation a Chicago casino could generate up to $1 billion annually -- some of it at the expense of money Chicagoans spend at casinos across the border -- some Indiana gaming experts remain unruffled.
For one, Chicago getting a casino still is a big if.
"Things are never final in the Illinois General Assembly until the last minute," said Ed Feigenbaum of Indiana Gaming Insight, a publication that tracks gambling issues in Indiana government.
Feigenbaum also said casino conglomerates, such as Harrah's, are accustomed to working in dynamic markets.
"These companies have other opportunities and they've chosen to be (in Indiana) despite what may come from Illinois," he said.
However, some advocates of Chicago-based gambling say some Indiana casinos market themselves as if they are in Chicago.
"They never say that the Horseshoe is in Indiana," said state Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, during a hearing into the extension of the casino law.
"They're marketing to our people. They don't want the residents from Indiana, they don't even market it in Indiana," he said. "They're taking advantage of Chicago residents, (of) Chicago dollars that could stay in the state of Illinois.
"They say they have Chicago-style hot dogs, they have Chicago restaurants, they say, 'Take the Chicago Skyway,' " said Hendon, who cosponsored the bill.
Horseshoe Casino in Hammond is located less than a mile from Chicago's city limits and the Skyway, is closer to down Chicago than any Illinois casino.
However, both Feigenbaum and Karen Lynn, vice president of communications for Ameristar Casinos Inc., which recently acquired the Resorts East Chicago casino, said Northwest Indiana casinos likely would not be hurt by the opening of a Chicago casino.
Indiana has 11 casinos. The five casinos in Northwest Indiana account for about 53 percent of the annual average daily admissions, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission's annual report from 2006, during which there were 10 riverboat casinos that operated the entire year.
The four casinos in Northeastern Illinois account for about 55 percent of annual average daily admissions, according to the Illinois Gaming Board's 2006 annual report.
"We're talking about one of the most underserved gaming markets in the country," Lynn said.
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN