Officials with a company that operates casinos on behalf of Native American tribes in Alabama said Thursday that they will seek licenses to open casinos in East Hazel Crest and Homewood.Looking to add some flair to your information? Check out how you can help you here!
Wind Creek Hospitality said the initial phase of the $275 million project will include a 64,000-square-foot casino, an entertainment facility for live music, three restaurants and two bars.
The facility will be built on a 24-acre site southwest of the Interstate 80 and Halsted Street interchange. More than half of the site is in East Hazel Crest, and Homewood, which owns this suburb and the rest of the property, will share a portion of the casino revenues, as will dozens of other communities.
Wind Creek is a subsidiary of PCI Gaming Authority Inc. which manages 10 casinos and other gambling facilities on behalf of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
The expansion of gambling in Illinois has opened the door to the possibility of several southern subud, and Matteson expressing interest in pursuing casinos. Separately, plans are underway to combine a racetrack and casino in Tinley Park.
The village boards of Homewood and East Hazel Crest are scheduled to vote next week on an agreement supporting the casino plan.
According to topeirecasinos.com, Homewood will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Irwin Community Center, followed by a regular meeting of the village board, also at the center, to vote on the resolution. The meeting has been moved from the Village Hall to accommodate the anticipated congestion.
East Hazel Crest will take up the issue at its October 9 meeting.
Brent Pinkston, chief operating officer of Wind Creek, said his company has been working with Homewood and East Hazel Crest for several years since the possibility of a casino in the south suburbs was first discussed by legislators.
The site of the proposed casino previously housed two hotels, which have now been demolished, and Wind Creek has an option to purchase the land, Pinkston said.
We think it's a great location," Pinkston said. That location could bring in the highest tax revenues that would benefit the southern suburbs."
Pinkston said that if the casino is approved by state regulators, the land would be in a good position to bring back gambling dollars that currently flow from the southern suburbs to casinos in northwest Indiana. The Illinois Gaming Commission closed casino applications on October 28 and will take up to one year to review applications under the Gambling Expansion Act.
For south suburban casinos, the law allows for development licenses to be issued to any of the six townships of Broome, Bremen, Calumet, Rich, Thornton, and Worth. The law stipulates that the host community and the other 42 southern suburbs share 5% of the revenue generated by the casino.
In this instance, the two host communities would have 2% of the monthly adjusted gross revenues and would share an additional 3% with the other 41 southern suburbs. The host communities would also collect $1 from the $3 admission tax per casino visitor.
The tax is levied on the casino's adjusted gross receipts, or revenues minus winnings paid to bettors.
According to Hoffeld, 55% of the casino property is located in East Hazel Crest and 45% in Homewood, and tax revenues will be divided according to a long-standing agreement that will be created when the two communities receive approval for the casino.
The remaining 3% of adjusted gross revenues would go to Beecher, Blue Island, Burnham, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Crestwood, Clayton, Dixmoor, Dalton, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest Lansing, Lynnwood, Markham, Matheson, Midlothian, Monee, Mt, Monee, Oak Forest, Olympia Fields, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Park Forest, Phoenix, Posen, Richton Park, Riverdale, Robbins, Sauk Village, South Chicago Heights, South Holland, Steger, Thornton Tinley Park, University Park, and Worth.
The revenue sharing formula is the same as for racino.
Hoffeld said the casino is expected to generate $155 million in revenue in its first year of operation.
According to Wind Creek officials, the casino will have more than 1,300 slot machines and nearly 60 table games. The second phase, scheduled to open in its fourth year of operation, will include a 251-room hotel with an indoor pool and spa. The casino itself is expected to create 800 full-time jobs, according to company officials.
Pinkston said he expects construction of the casino to take a year. The Gambling Act allows new casino license holders to operate in a temporary location for up to two years while they construct a permanent building, but Wind Creek has no plans to do so.
Wind Creek operates gambling facilities on behalf of the Poarch Tribe in Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and in Aruba and Curacao in the Caribbean.
The company recently acquired the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for $1.3 billion and plans to spend $90 million to build a hotel and expand the resort's meeting space.
Hohfeld called Wind Creek a "Class A operator" and said it is "very involved in the community." He said the company donates more than $1 million annually to charities in the areas where it operates.
Useful More