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Experts Question Chicago Casino Proposal22 May 2003CHICAGO, Illinois – As reported by the Associated Press: "Mayor Richard Daley wants Chicago to be the first city in the country to own a casino, an idea so novel that critics aren't sure how it would work. "The mayor has said he would have an outside company manage the casino, but questions remain about how the casino would be regulated. "`Would the state threaten to shut down the city if there was cheating, the machines were rigged or executives were stealing money? It's strange,' said gambling expert Bill Thompson, professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "Daley said he plans to push ahead with his idea despite Gov. Rod Blagojevich's vow on Tuesday to block any state budget that includes gambling expansion. The mayor said he was not disappointed by Blagojevich's announcement and will continue to make his case for a land-based Chicago casino. "…Monica Kearns, policy researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said she is not aware of any casino in the United States that is owned by a state or local government except for tribally owned casinos, and she was not aware of any states or cities that are considering such casinos this year. "The mayor known for borrowing ideas from other cities and bringing them to Chicago -- from plastic cows on the streets to gondolas on the Chicago River -- wants to put his own twist on gambling. He says he's only interested in a casino if Chicago can own it, under the theory the city would rake in more cash than the typical arrangement in which government collects tax revenue from private casino owners…" |