Matteson is jumping into the race to be the host community for a south suburban casino.
Village officials said Monday they are teaming up with Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation for a development at the northeast corner of U.S. 30 and Harlem Avenue that would include a 200-room hotel and convention center.
East Hazel Crest and Homewood intend to seek a license to operate a casino on property that is in both of those suburbs, and the Ho-Chunk Nation said it plans to file an application to develop a casino in Lynwood.
Casino application licenses need to be filed with the Illinois Gaming Board by the end of this month.
“I believe this project will be an asset not just to Matteson, but to the entire Southland region,” Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin said in a news release. “After interviewing multiple casino operators, we felt the team led by the Choctaw Nation provided the best combination of experience, vision, community engagement, and a financially feasible plan.”
She touted the Matteson location as being “the absolute best” for a proposed south suburban casino.
The Choctaw Nation operates several casinos and hotels in Oklahoma.
The village said casino developers will work with minority business enterprises and have partnered with two minority-owned firms to develop an indoor golf facility and a family entertainment center next to the casino.
The casino would have 2,000 gaming positions, or a combination of slots and seats at table games. An adjacent 36,000-square-foot convention space could be used for banquets and community events, according to the village.
East Hazel Crest and Homewood are partnering with a subsidiary of Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians for a casino development at Interstate 80 and Halsted Street. Wind Creek Hospitality is proposing a 64,000-square-foot casino on a 24-acre site.
In Lynwood, the Ho-Chunk Nation intends to seek a license for a casino development on land it owns just east of Illinois 394 and north of the highway’s interchange with Glenwood-Dyer Road.
The Ho-Chunk own more than 120 acres of land and operate a sports and entertainment center on the property.
The new gambling expansion law in Illinois creates a new casino license for a south suburban location as well as a combination harness racing track and casino, which is being proposed in Tinley Park.
Under the state law, the host community would receive 2% of the casino’s adjusted gross revenues, or revenues minus winnings paid to bettors. Another 3% would be shared with 42 other south suburbs. The south suburban casino license is earmarked for a location in one of six townships: Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Rich, Thornton or Worth.
mnolan@tribpub.com
