Hard Rock Casino Rockford<\/a> will open a temporary venue in the northern Illinois town in October.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubmitting a response to last year\u2019s RFI was not a prerequisite to bidding.<\/p>\n
Tax Issue Already Pushed Back Casino Project<\/h2>\n
So, why is Chicago\u2019s casino process \u2013 to borrow a word from Halkyard \u2013 complicated? Taxes.<\/p>\n
A feasibility study found that the effective tax rate for a casino would be a whopping 72 percent. That’s due to a 38.7 percent privilege tax to fund first responder pensions that was tacked on top of a 33.3 percent levy on gross gaming revenue.<\/p>\n
Last year, city officials successfully got lawmakers in Springfield to fix the issue. The new tax structure now reduces the effective rate to around 40 percent.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, Lightfoot and city officials have been adamant that whatever is built in Chicago should be something significant. By that, officials want a casino that complements the city\u2019s architecture and meets, if not exceeds, standards set by the city\u2019s other high-end entertainment venues.<\/p>\n
Those qualities will likely necessitate a significant investment. That, combined with a still high tax rate and an already saturated gaming market in the Chicago-Northern Indiana region, is likely leading to the lack of interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chicago officials may push back the deadline for proposals to operate a casino in hopes of drawing more interest in the opportunity. Crain\u2019s Chicago Business reported that the current Aug. 23 deadline for submissions could be extended by two months, and that move could be officially announced later this week. The primary driver for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":181947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chicago Officials Mull Extension for Casino Proposals<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n