{"id":146906,"date":"2020-09-01T10:20:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T17:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=146906"},"modified":"2020-09-01T12:45:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T19:45:51","slug":"chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Casino Input From Gaming Operators"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas and strategies for the city’s forthcoming integrated resort casino.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago
Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate, or “The Bean” to locals,\u00a0 is a major tourism draw for Chicago, and the Windy City is betting on a casino resort to bring additional visitors to the shores of Lake Michigan. (Image: iStock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The goal of the RFI is for city officials to receive perspective from integrated resort (IR) operators and real estate developers on key issues that will be considered when evaluating proposals for the lone casino license. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) signed legislation last year that authorized five regional commercial casinos in the Chicago suburbs, plus a larger IR complex downtown.<\/p>\n

A feasibility study of the tax structure on the downtown casino resort concluded that the fees were too exorbitant to make the license an attractive investment opportunity. Pritzker then signed another bill<\/a> that greatly reduced how much gaming revenue the city and state will receive from the resort.<\/p>\n

Now, Lightfoot is seeking input from casino companies as to what conditions will further increase their likelihood of preparing a bid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“This is the right time to begin having these discussions, as we continue to lay the foundation to make a strong recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lightfoot said.<\/p>\n

Questions Arise\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Lightfoot’s RFI includes numerous inquiries. Questions include optimal location, having a temporary casino during construction, and what amenities would maximize the complex’s revenue potential.<\/p>\n

\n

The mayor is also asking what minimum acreage is needed for such a venue, how existing assets — including sports venues, hotels, and cultural attractions — could be implemented into the resort, and what the impact is of COVID-19.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Participating in the RFI process is not a condition to participating in the competitive bidding, Lightfoot explains. As the third most-populated metropolitan area in the US, with more than 9.5 million residents, Chicago represents the largest untapped gaming opportunity in the country.<\/p>\n

Tax Cuts<\/b><\/h2>\n

Chicago’s gaming floor would be taxed at an effective rate of 72 percent<\/a>, according to an IR feasibility review from the Las Vegas-based Union Gaming. That was due to a 33.3 percent “privilege tax” on the IR, something not placed on the regional casinos.<\/p>\n

Lightfoot and the legislature worked together to reduce the rate to between 22.5 percent to 74.7 percent on slot machines, and between 15 percent and 35 percent on table games. The final rate is dependent on the casino’s total GGR.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Lightfoot redoubled efforts and worked with the state legislature to amend the law to lower the tax rates and make a Chicago casino a reality, her office stated.<\/p>\n

RFI answers are due to the city by October 21, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas and strategies for the city’s forthcoming integrated resort casino. The goal of the RFI is for city officials to receive perspective from integrated resort (IR) operators and real estate developers on key issues that will be considered when evaluating proposals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":146912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-01T17:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-01T19:45:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"803\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CasinoorgDevinO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/\",\"name\":\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-01T17:20:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-01T19:45:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\"},\"description\":\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":803,\"caption\":\"Millennium Park's Cloud Gate is a major tourism draw for Chicago, and the Windy City is hoping a casino resort in the coming years brings additional visitors to the shores of Lake Michigan. (Image: iStock)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Casino Input From Gaming Operators\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\",\"name\":\"Devin O'Connor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Devin O'Connor\"},\"description\":\"Devin O'Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, entertainment and gaming news on the East Coast. Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. Contact Devin at devin.oconnor@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/devinoconnor\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CasinoorgDevinO\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/devin-oconnor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators","description":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators","og_description":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2020-09-01T17:20:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-01T19:45:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":803,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Devin O'Connor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CasinoorgDevinO","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Devin O'Connor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/","name":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Resort Input From Casino Operators","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-01T17:20:09+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-01T19:45:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf"},"description":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently issued a request for information to solicit ideas and strategies for the city's forthcoming integrated resort casino.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/vYV1ydU6_w_-2MX0Y9Z2H2326_rSsYUXoqRPTuvTrhk.jpg","width":1200,"height":803,"caption":"Millennium Park's Cloud Gate is a major tourism draw for Chicago, and the Windy City is hoping a casino resort in the coming years brings additional visitors to the shores of Lake Michigan. (Image: iStock)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/chicago-mayor-lori-lightfoot-seeks-ir-input-from-casino-operators\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Seeks Casino Input From Gaming Operators"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf","name":"Devin O'Connor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png","caption":"Devin O'Connor"},"description":"Devin O'Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, entertainment and gaming news on the East Coast. Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. Contact Devin at devin.oconnor@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/devinoconnor\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CasinoorgDevinO"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/devin-oconnor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}