Gaming Board set to act on Rosemont casino proposal next month

Nicole Ziegler Dizon

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 4:55 a.m.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Gaming Board is set to decide next month whether developers can move forward with a planned riverboat casino in Rosemont, board members announced Friday.

It has been more than a year since Emerald Casino Inc. applied to move the license for its defunct East Dubuque riverboat to Rosemont, a Chicago suburb near O'Hare International Airport.

But the deal has been tied up in court since last October, when a rival development group filed a lawsuit challenging the state law that laid the groundwork for the move.

Gaming Board Chairman Gregory Jones said the board, which just received a lengthy report from its staff on Emerald's request, should be ready to act during its Oct. 17 meeting. Emerald promised to meet with the agency's staff before then to address any concerns.

"The consensus of the board is ... that by that date we will have sufficient information to make a decision," Jones said.

Board member Mac Ryder raised several questions about the deal in a brief exchange with Emerald attorney Mike Ficaro.

Ryder said he was concerned that Emerald's owners were buying and selling shares of stock "like they were sweet corn." He noted that the board must approve any shareholders in a casino and that a top priority of his will be to pin down who owns Emerald.

Ryder also questioned why a development agreement for the casino stipulates that Emerald can use only two construction companies. He said he wants to know why the project wasn't bid out and what ties those companies may have to the developers or their friends.

Ficaro assured Ryder he would get answers before the next board meeting.

Emerald officials and representatives for 71 suburban communities that stand to share in the new casino's bounty welcomed the news of an imminent decision.

But Michael Dockterman, an attorney for Lake County Riverboat L.P., warned that any board action could violate a court injunction initially issued in his client's case.

Lake County Riverboat wants a shot at the pending riverboat license and contends that a sweeping gambling law passed last year is unconstitutional. But the case has yet to get off the ground as the two sides bicker over whether it should be heard in Lake County or Cook County. That issue is now before the Illinois Supreme Court.

"I just can't understand why people aren't willing to wait until the court determines the constitutionality," Dockterman said.

Board members said lawyers advised them that they are legally entitled to act.

In the meantime, Emerald officials and Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens have grumbled about the board's failure to make a decision. Stephens even threatened to file a lawsuit alleging that the board was not living up to its constitutional duty.

"At one time I was considering changing the name of this project from Emerald to Odyssey," Ficaro said.

In other action Friday, the board approved rules limiting alcohol sales aboard riverboat casinos to between 9:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. The casinos had been allowed to serve alcohol anytime they were operating.

Board administrator Sergio Acosta also recommended that the state's casinos ban two men convicted this year of putting hundreds of video gambling machines in suburban Chicago restaurants and bars. Robert Cechini and Lawrence Scialabba were sent letters informing them of the recommendation.