вЂњBut I donвЂ™t think extending the timeline is going to make much of a difference to some of these casino companies.вЂќ And I know how difficult it is to change some of the parameters of the bid process seeing that the Illinois legislature is involved in this, and I donвЂ™t know that they would even have the appetite to reduce the tax rate,вЂќ said Velotta. вЂњI donвЂ™t think that expanding the timeline is going to make any big difference. Resort that Chicago is planning, itвЂ™s still competition in terms of people who just want to go out and have an evening and play slots or play table games, that type of thing.вЂќД«oth Bussmann and Velotta said they think the deadline extension will do little to attract more bidders. вЂњThese companies want to try to have as big a market share as they possibly can, but when they see that there are proposals going on within Illinois - close by within 30 to 40 minutes of the Chicago proposal - and then you have IndianaвЂ¦ right off the bat thereвЂ™s a number of different competitors that are in the market,вЂќ said Velotta.вЂњWhile they probably wouldnвЂ™t stack up against a big He also notes that the future competitive environment for the gaming industry in the Chicago area is unclear. вЂњIn the rest of the country, they range from between 10% to 25% - and 40% is a little bit steep.вЂќ So right off the top youвЂ™re seeing this big difference between tax rates,вЂќ said Velotta. вЂњUnderstand that in Nevada our top tax rate is 6.75%. Richard Velotta, assistant business editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, agrees that the high gaming tax rate is the biggest obstacle to a Chicago casino deal getting done. IвЂ™d put it at 20%,вЂќ says Bussmann.Д«ut he acknowledges that would require a legislative fix in Springfield вЂњwhich isnвЂ™t necessarily easy because getting this initially passed in 2019 took an extension of the session to make sure they could get the gaming package passed.вЂќ And the challenge with this is not all the sun and the moon, the stars align on this because you have a high tax rate.вЂќД«ussmann says he believes the gaming tax rate needs to come down substantially. вЂњBut itвЂ™s about getting everything lined up to make that happen. вЂњI think a casino in Chicago proper would be a fabulous idea,вЂќ says Brendan Bussmann, partner and director of government affairs for Las Vegas-based consultancy Global Market Advisors. вЂ“ are choosing to take a pass on bidding on the project. It hopes a casino would generate as much as $200 million in revenue annually that it has already earmarked for ChicagoвЂ™s underfunded police and fire pension funds.Д«ut with a gaming tax rate for a Chicago casino currently set at 40% the city is finding that major Las Vegas gaming operators вЂ“ including MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts Ltd, Caesars Entertainment Inc., and Las Vegas Sands Corp. The city envisions licensing a world-class casino resort with up to 500 rooms, along with bars, restaurants, meeting and entertainment venues. вЂњExtending the deadline for interested bidders will allow the city to collect as many robust, impactful and transformative proposals as possible,вЂќ said Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a statement announcing the deadline extension earlier this month.Д«ut so far bidding interest has been muted. Monday was the initial deadline to submit proposals to develop the much-vaunted project - but after few bidders appeared interested - the city pushed back the deadline to the end of October.

Vegas make it big