Wire NORTH AMERICA
Chicago Tender for First Casino Resort
Chicago officially issued a Request for Proposal for the opportunity to apply for the sole casino licence in the country’s third-largest metropolitan market.
Te City of Chicago is seeking an entertainment and gaming destination to enhance the urban fabric of the surrounding neighbourhood.
ILLINOIS CASINO LICENCES
Virginia - Bally’s Richmond miss and Strip hit The City of Richmond has cut the number of candidates in its quest to launch a casino from three to two with plans from Bally's Corp. for a $650m, 1.6m- square-foot casino shelved. The move leaves The Live! Casino & Hotel proposal by The Cordish and ONE Casino and Resort, proposed by Urban One on the table. Bally's lost out following concerns about 'site access, environmental factors, and required approvals from non-city entities that may not be granted or extend the project timeline.'
Leonard Sledge, Director of the city’s Department of Economic Development, said: “We appreciate Bally’s interest to develop a resort casino project in Richmond. The evaluation panel is no longer considering the Bally’s project or the Parkway Crossings site for a resort casino due to concerns about site access, environmental factors, and required approvals from non-city entities that may not be granted or extend the project timeline. We also appreciate the many Richmond citizens who have shared their thoughts throughout this process.”
Despite the setback, Bally's pandemic growth story continued this month having secured a place on the Las Vegas Strip with a US$308m deal to buy the Tropicana Las Vegas. The purchase price for the Tropicana Las Vegas property's non-land assets is $150m. In addition, Bally's has agreed to lease the land underlying the Tropicana property from GLPI for an initial term of 50 years at annual rent of $10.5m, subject to increase over time. Bally's and GLPI will also will enter into a sale-and-leaseback transaction relating to Bally's Black Hawk, CO and Rock Island, IL casino properties for a cash purchase price of $150m.
New Jersey - Ocean Casino $15m reinvestment Ocean Casino Resort is doubling down on its recent success with a reinvestment of US$15m into the resort, team members, and surrounding North Beach community. "Ocean's interest in our people, product, and community is a testament to the progressive direction our property is moving toward as we enter into the summer months," said Terry Glebocki, Chief Executive Officer for Ocean Casino Resort. "As restrictions are lifted and we begin reopening additional areas of our business, I am thrilled at the opportunity to present our guests with an evolving gaming experience that is unique to the market."
On the heels of the debut of The Cove high-limit slot experience and The Loft private luxury gaming suite, Ocean continues to up the ante this summer with several additions to the casino floor. The resort will debut an all-new high-limit table games venue, unique Asian gaming space, as well as two new guest lounges for Ocean Rewards cardmembers. Also, new pathways will be installed throughout the casino so guests may easily navigate between games, including more than 250 new slot machines.
P16 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Te City of Chicago officially issued a Request for Proposal for the opportunity to apply for the sole casino licence in the country’s third-largest metropolitan market. Te selected partner will be able to propose its optimal site for the project, pending the approval by the City. Chicago aims to welcome the new casino-resort by 2025.
“After years of planning, we are beyond excited to begin the RFP process for Chicago’s first casino,” said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “We look forward to collaborating with world- class operators to develop a premier entertainment destination that will catalyse growth in our dynamic economy, create sustainable, good-paying jobs for our workforce and bring new financial opportunities to our businesses.”
Te Chicago casino project is one of the country’s most attractive casino-resort development opportunities. A global gateway city with 9.5 million residents, Chicago welcomed 60 million domestic and 1.5 million international visitors in 2019. Te potential gaming operator will be able to incorporate its property into the City’s vibrant cultural scene, robust public transit infrastructure and highly diversified economy. Additionally, a significantly lower tax rate was made available to a potential operator due to the passing of Public Act 101-648.
Te holder of the Chicago owner’s licence can
NGB green lights Clark County’s return to 80 per cent of capacity
Nevada
Te Nevada Gaming Control Board has given casinos in Clark County the green light to increase attendance to 80 per cent of capacity from May 1 with the aim of getting gaming floors back to 100 per cent capacity on June 1.
Te move follows more than a year of operating upheaval with the complete closure of casinos from mid-March to June 2020 followed by reduced capacities of 50 per cent, 25 per cent, and then back up to 50 per cent. Te state’s directive for the mandatory wearing of
operate a temporary casino for up to 24 months (subject to a 12-month extension) and, thereafter, a permanent casino located in the city. In addition to a casino, the gaming enterprise also will have the opportunity to operate slot machines at Chicago Midway International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. All applicants selected through the RFP process then must apply to the state for the owner’s licence and meet the state’s licensing requirements.
Te City is seeking an entertainment and gaming destination to enhance the urban fabric of the surrounding neighbourhood. Required elements include a casino-resort with 500 rooms or less, meeting space, restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and more.
Te RFP’s core project goals include the creation of well-paying jobs and new employment opportunities, as well as plentiful apprenticeships and training programmes for Chicago’s residents. It must support utilisation and participation of Chicago-based businesses, including those owned by minorities, women, veterans and those with disabilities. It will have to generate gaming tax revenues for the City, which will be dedicated to the City’s police and fire pension obligations. It will need to integrate seamlessly into Chicago’s existing landscape and communities and offer a high-quality, architecturally significant design, which will catalyse additional economic development in the City.
face masks remains in place. Te notice, signed by Control Board Chairman Brin Gibson, details new gaming floor restrictions for every Nevada county. Whilst casinos in Clark County move up to 80 per cent, those in Reno and Sparks will remain at 50 per cent occupancy and social distancing of six foot.
Gaming floors in Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, Pershing, Storey and White Pine counties will all be able to operate at 100 per cent occupancy with no social distancing needed. Esmeralda County will remain at 50 per cent of capacity rate but with no social distancing. casinos in Lyon County will move to 100 per cent occupancy but with six feet of social distancing.
US
Genius Sports has completed its merger with dMY Technology . With over $145m in cash and no financial debt on the balance sheet, Genius Sports believes it is poised to capitalise on the considerable growth expected in the global online sports betting market. “As Genius Sports enters an exciting new chapter, we are uniquely positioned at the heart of the world’s sports, betting and media ecosystem,” explained Mark Locke, CEO and Co- Founder of Genius Sports. “Our merger with dMY II and listing on the NYSE are a testament to the opportunity ahead of us as we leverage our scale, drive innovation and deliver products that help our partners create new and immersive experiences for fans around the world.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134
