Casino Near Downtown Chicago

admin  8/2/2022
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The Ameristar CasinoEast Chicagoannounced on Thursday its plans to open a Barstool Sportsbook.

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East Chicago is in Indiana, only about a half-hour away from downtown Chicago. So, those looking to bet in Chicago with Barstool in person will have a convenient option.

Barstool still hasn’t launched in Illinois, but the Indiana site figures to be its most popular retail location among Illinoisans, even once Barstool IL is live here.

Barstool is expected to partner with either Hollywood Casino Aurora or Hollywood Casino Joliet once it’s ready to launch in Illinois.

With that said, the Ameristar is closer to Chicago than either Hollywood Casino. Both Hollywood locations are at least 45 minutes from downtown.

While it’s not a huge difference in commute time, Barstool now has a prime retail spot for Chicagoans and suburbanites. Aurora and Joliet are two of the five biggest cities in Illinois and are close to the populous western suburbs.

Ameristar East, like the Hollywood casinos, is owned by Penn National Gaming.

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Will Chicagoans be able to bet with Barstool at the Ameristar soon? It’s certainly possible.

Indiana casinos are still open

All 10 of Illinois’ casinos have been closed since November, and we don’t know when they’re going to reopen. Indiana’s casinos, on the other hand, are all open.

The Ameristar East Sportsbook is open as we speak, though it’s not officially a Barstool Sportsbook yet. The Barstool branding will supposedly be coming “soon,” though we don’t have an exact date.

Details will be announced soon! https://t.co/2vbhiWYkqb

— Ameristar EC (@AmeristarEC) December 10, 2020

It’s worth noting that it doesn’t look like Illinois casinos will be reopening in the immediate future.

COVID-19 positivity rates are about 10%, the highest they’ve been since the spring.

Technically, Chicagoans are supposed to quarantine for 14 days if they cross the Indiana border and come back. But enforcement of that rule has been lacking, to say the least.

It’s also possible that Indiana casinos close soon, particularly the Ameristar. Indiana has a color system that indicates how dire a COVID-19 situation is, based on county. The Ameristar is in a “red” county, the most dangerous possible color. All Indiana casinos are currently in “red” or “orange” status, the second-worst color.

With that said, Indiana has been much more willing to keep businesses open during the pandemic than Illinois. Still, it’s a possibility that Indiana casinos could shut down again.

Barstool primed to have a big Chicago presence

Casino Near Downtown Chicago

Barstool plans to go live in Illinois in 2021.

There are a lot of reasons it could succeed in the Land of Lincoln.

It currently has the No. 3market share in Pennsylvania behind FanDuel and DraftKings. While it hasn’t dominated there, it’s certainly been a significant player.

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With the Ameristar move, Barstool figures to have key retail locations close to downtown Chicago and the suburbs. Barstool also has a notable Chicago media presence. Its Barstool Chicago brand has a significant following in the state.

The Illinois market also isn’t overly crowded yet. As of now, there are five online sportsbooks, a small number considering it’s the No. 4 betting market in the US.

Downtown

It will be interesting to see what 2021 has in store for the “Stoolies” in Illinois.

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This summer, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office asked interested parties to answer questions about a potential casino in the city. The office recently released a non-binding summary of the responses from 11 operators, including casino operators Hard Rock International, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts and a partnership between Rush Street Gaming and developer Related Midwest. Real estate developers D3 Realty, Development Management Associates, JDL and R2 Companies also responded.

Lightfoot said the city is now “one step closer to bringing the long-awaited Chicago casino to life.” She said the responses from the 11 firms contain “critical information we need to ensure this project will be a success.”

Casinos Close To Downtown Chicago

Eight of the respondents stated the casino should be built in or near downtown, agreeing with a 2019 feasibility study that recommended the Chicago casino be located “in a tourist-centric location that also enjoys, if possible, decent access to the local population.”

This could lead to pressure for Lightfoot from south and westside aldermen who want the casino in their wards, since it could create hundreds of jobs that have been passed over for private and public investments. Lightfoot previously said she would “work to put a casino in a place where we can spur economic growth as part of a larger economic development initiative.” Governor J.B. Pritzker also has commented he’d prefer the casino be developed in an area that has not benefited from the recent Chicago downtown development boom. The casino site will be selected after “a robust community engagement process,” that includes public meetings, officials said.

According to the summary, six of the 11 respondents who said they would operate a temporary casino during the two to three years it would take to build a permanent facility noted it should be downtown, but not in the same location as a permanent casino. They said the cash flow from a temporary casino would help pay for the larger venue, provide earlier tax revenue and create jobs. Three said a temporary casino would add extra cost, detract from the permanent facility and create confusion in the marketplace.

The summary also indicated the final choice for a Chicago casino should have adequate parking and be in a visible location near city amenities with the “ability to leverage the Chicago riverfront.” Ten of the 11 respondents stated the casino must include a hotel with 100 to 750 rooms, 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet of convention, entertainment and retail space, with a 100,000-square-foot to 200,000-square-foot gaming floor. One said it would use existing Chicago hotels but possibly build one later.

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The information in the responses will be used to create a formal request for proposals early next year, depending on the Covid-19 situation, officials stated. The respondents “agreed that the current Covid-19 pandemic will have no or minimal impact on the finally constructed casino facility given the timeline for selecting and licensing a casino operator and construction of the casino complex,” according to the mayor’s office.