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Gaming Expansion Bill Passed By Panel May 9, 2003

CHICAGO:- A bill that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues for Illinois by increasing the number of gaming positions at riverboat casinos and allowing slot machines at horse race tracks passed a state legislative committee on Thursday.

The measure, which moved out of the House Gaming Committee in an 8-2 vote, would also ease the tax burden on casinos. It was part of a three-bill package unveiled on Wednesday by Committee Chairman State Rep. Lou Lang, a Democrat from Skokie, to help the state deal with a two-year, $5 billion budget deficit caused in part by the slumping U.S. economy.

The entire legislative package would boost Illinois' gambling revenues by up to $2.6 billion in fiscal 2004 and generate an additional $1.28 billion to $1.89 billion annually, Lang said in a statement.

The legislation would dramatically expand the number of gaming positions at existing venues, legalize video poker and allow Chicago to own and operate a riverboat casino. A gaming position is a place where a casino patron can gamble, such as a slot machine or a spot at a card table.

Under the bill passed by the committee, Illinois would raise $130 million from a one-time assessment on existing riverboats for expanding the number of gaming positions to 2,000 per venue from the current 1,200 positions. Another 3,200 slot machines would be split among five horse-racing tracks, which would be required to pay a fee for each one.

For Chicago, one of the bills yet to be taken up by the committee would authorize up to 4,000 gaming positions at a city-owned casino. Lang estimated the move would generate up to $520 million a year for the city and up to $380 million a year for the state.

Casino analysts weighed in on the proposal on Thursday, saying the legislation had some positive aspects for riverboat operators, including lower taxes. Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, which represents the existing nine riverboat casinos in the state, said the group was still reviewing Lang's "complex" bill package.

He declined to comment on whether having a casino in Chicago would hurt existing venues. Chicago had been shut out of the state's original casino gambling law, which was aimed at giving an economic boost to smaller, depressed areas of the state.

Existing casinos are operated by under licenses granted by the Illinois Gaming Board. Allowing Chicago to own and operate a casino would mark a big change in Illinois, but it has long been advocated by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who like the governor, is facing tough budget woes.

Tom Schafer, a spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said the governor, who has been opposed to expanding gambling in the state, was not arbitrarily dismissing the idea and would look at the bill if it passes the legislature.

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