Casino news source: CBS2 - http://cbs2chicago.com
A Downtown Casino Is All About Location
CBS 2's Thoughts on Where A Casino Might Be Located
Mike Flannery
Reporting
(CBS) CHICAGO CBS 2 broke the story about the possibility of a Chicago casino. And now that a casino in downtown is back on the bargaining table at the State Capitol, attention is once again focusing on where it might be located.
There are three spots downtown that have available space, access to roads and could just turn into Las Vegas East, as CBS 2's Political Editor Mike Flannery reports.
Northerly Island, the former Meigs Field that is now a park is one place where those involved in these Chicago casino talks said it definitely would not go.
Some point to the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place as a spectacular location for a casino.
Another waterfront location in the running is on either side of the Chicago River where lots of hotels and restaurants sit, but also lots of condos and apartments, homes where people might not appreciate a casino nearby.
The looming hulk of the old Main Post Office is favored by some as a good casino location. It is downtown, but this area is not as residential as some other sections of downtown have become.
"I think the post office has a lot of appeal for something like this," said David Roeder, Sun-Times business columnist. "It's so huge that you can put a hotel, parking and a casino, while still having good access."
Roeder's skeptical of calls for a Chicago casino to go anywhere else but downtown, for example the old U.S. Steel plant on the far southeast side.
Should the General Assembly authorize it as a fund raising measure for the state, the final location would be up to the City Council and Mayor Daley with oversight by the Illinois Casino Control Commission. |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
