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Illinois officials on Monday will welcome online what is expected to be the state’s most profitable casino to date – one with owners very familiar to Alabamians.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians will welcome guests to Wind Creek Chicago Southland, a sprawling, 70,000-square foot casino with “high end everything” that hopes to lure upscale clientele and become the crown jewel in a revenue plan designed to reshape Chicago’s and Illinois’ infrastructure.
The casino becomes the ninth casino property for the Poarch Creeks, who operate three casinos and a dog track in Alabama, and who have been negotiating for years to expand their gambling offerings in their home state.
“We would love to invest more in Alabama,” said Arthur Mothershed, executive vice president of business development and government relations for Wind Creek Hospitality. “We look forward to continuing discussions with state legislators on further development opportunities.”
State lawmakers have discussed a number of gambling proposals in recent legislative sessions, and came within a handful of votes last session of passing a more comprehensive plan that would have allowed PCI to operate full casinos, instead of the electronic bingo-only casinos they currently run in Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery.
Unlike Illinois, however, which sought to maximize tax revenue while also luring operators that would build luxury properties, Alabama officials have balked at allowing full casinos at multiple locations around the state and at allowing sports wagering. Critics of such a limited plan have pointed to severely reduced revenue projections and decreased employment opportunities.
A bill introduced by the House last session would have allowed for up to 10 full casino locations around the state, a lottery and sports wagering. But that plan was blown up by the state Senate, which introduced its own gambling bill that allowed only a lottery, three full casinos and seven locations offering historical horse racing games.
There was a $500 million difference annually between the two proposals, with projections falling from around $1 billion annually from the House version to less than $500 million from the Senate version. Projected jobs numbers also fell from between 12,000 to 15,000 permanent jobs to less than half that total.
Those employment figures are not overly optimistic, either. For comparison’s sake, Wind Creek Chicago Southland, which has roughly the same size gaming floor as PCI’s Atmore property, plans to employ around 1,000 people. (That doesn’t factor in adjoining hotels and restaurants.) Wind Creek Atmore, with a gaming floor of roughly the same size but only operating electronic bingo machines, currently employs just under 800 people in its gaming operations.
“The opening of Wind Creek Chicago Southland underscores our dedication to making a positive economic impact in the communities we serve,” said Jay Dorris, President and CEO, Wind Creek Hospitality. “We’re committed to create opportunities that support the region, offer competitive benefits for team members, and further strengthen the vibrant Southland community.”
Wind Creek Chicago Southland, operating in a state that already has 15 casinos, is expected to generate more than $200 million per year in tax revenue. The $529 million casino, with more than 1,400 slot machines and 56 table games, is viewed as the key component in Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s $45 billion infrastructure investment plan.
