Will this be a good thing or will they find a way to screw this up?

Arlington doesn't want a license. Doesn't bode well for the track's future.

Huge win, the biggest windfall will be when they build a casino in the city.. so many hundreds of millions go across the border to Indiana.

Huge win, the biggest windfall will be when they build a casino in the city.. so many hundreds of millions go across the border to Indiana.

They must figure the land is worth more if they bulldoze it?

I can't imagine how many more commercials the Score is going to sell to gambling-related services...they must be licking their chops.

so it's illinois government at work.... i'm expecting the state to be a 20% rake

Unclear to me on online gambling, which is what most of us want. Draft kings/Fanduel seem to be sort of locked out for 18 months. Once I can bet on the Bears 5 minutes before kick off from my couch, all bets are on.

Joe O. said the Chicago casino would have 4,000 gaming seats (for comparison, The Bellagio has around 2,800). He said Arlington could have up to 1,200 seats if they wanted.

This sounds like too much too soon. He said they are going to be giving licenses to convenience stores, but only to bet parlays?

How is that gonna work? I'm guessing Mac and good dolphin will just stick with their guys and the standard 10% vig.

If any casino could find a way to lose money through mismanagement and corruption, it would be a Chicago run casino.

That depends: Are they hiring the Trump Organization as consultants?

Theoretically, I think the racetracks, casinos, and stadiums could accept bets right away. I believe it's legal for the Cubs or Sox to take bets at their ballparks as soon as they pay the licensing/fees. But they'd have to get set up to do it themselves or hire a DFS company like Draft Kings or a bookmaking company like William Hill to handle it for them. I think the latter is more likely.

Illinois is slow and dumb as usual though. Everyone knew this was going to happen, but I don't think anyone is really ready. When sports betting was passed in New Jersey Monmouth Park already had William Hill ready to roll.

So to net this out, when do you think I can place a sports bet from my phone?

And let's not forget the republicans who just proved that they really couldn't run the current version of the numbers rackets.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you ever just let it go with the partisan shit?

Those south suburbs are gonna be fighting hard for the casino that's going there. I'd put it in Tinley Park on the site of that old insane asylum on Harlem, right off of I-80.

The Careys at Hawthorne may fall into a category with Gural and Stronach. Hawthorne is a family business and they have run it for many years. Unlike CDI that answers to shareholders and sees itself as a corporate entity that is in business to maximize profits, the Careys may see themselves as racing operators. That's probably the best case for Illinois racing. But if Arlington goes that will be hard to overcome. You'll know right away if the Careys are really interested in promoting racing rather than letting it wither so they can run a sportsbook/casino in peace because they will lower the takeout on all racing wagers.

My guess would be on 159th around Pulaski between Oak Forest, Midlothian and Markham makes the most sense given the stated goals. Just like it seems counterproductive to put the city casino at the old Michael Reese site, when you still have swaths of the West side, not to mention the massive South Works site right on two miles of the lakefront.

The bill allows for a new harness license, but the new location can't be within 35 miles of an existing license. I've heard Tinley Park is getting the new track. Does that mean Hawthorne gives up harness?