Gaming board eager to begin selling 10th license
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Illinois gaming regulators on Monday said they'll soon take the first step toward activating the state's 10th casino license, now that a drawn-out court battle apparently is over.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The Illinois Gaming Board will issue a request for proposals, or RFP, to "secure the expertise" of an investment banking firm, panel chairman Aaron Jaffe said Monday as members met in Chicago. He did not provide details, but presumably the firm tapped by the board would help auction the 10th license.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The state Supreme Court last week declined to review an appellate court ruling that affirmed the gaming board's authority to wrest control of the license from its bankrupt owner, Emerald Casino.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The state has lost out on $1 billion in revenue since 1997, when the casino license first became dormant, Jaffe said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"We will expedite all matters surrounding the 10th license as swiftly as possible in order to obtain those tax revenues," he said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">A previous incarnation of the gaming board blocked Emerald's plans to build a casino in Rosemont because the project had alleged mob ties. The panel later voted to revoke the license.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">A message was left Monday with the Chicago attorney who represents Emerald.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">If the 10th license is finally freed up, it could factor into a proposed gambling expansion legislative leaders are negotiating.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Also Monday, the gaming board heard testimony about a proposal to require riverboat casinos to electronically scan the driver's licenses or state identification cards of customers seeking entry. The process would red-flag minors and people who have voluntarily signed up for the gaming board's "self-exclusion" program.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The list of problem gamblers who want to be barred from Illinois casinos has grown to 5,331 people, according to Gene O'Shea, who manages the program. </font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Since it began in July 2002, he said, 1,154 enrollees have been caught trying to get into casinos. About $500,000 in gambling winnings have been confiscated and donated to charity, he said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net.</font>