(CelebrityAccess News Service) – Park Place Entertainment Corporation submitted a bid on August 4 to build and operate a Caesars brand casino to serve the greater Chicago market. Planned for a site in Rosemont, IL, the proposed new casino is designed to stimulate tourism and economic development throughout the Chicagoland region by attracting new domestic and international visitors as well as local residents.
The Rosemont site is close to O'Hare International Airport, accessible from major freeways and located near the state's second-largest convention facility, the 840,000-square-foot Rosemont Convention Center. Immediately adjacent to the site are 6,000 hotel rooms and a well-developed entertainment district that includes the 18,000-seat Allstate Arena and the 4,300-seat Rosemont Theatre.
The current design calls for a Caesars branded casino resort comprising 40,000 square feet of gaming space, more than 1,100 slot machines and 34 table games, four restaurants, and four bars or beverage lounges. The project also would include a covered parking facility with more than 5,000 spaces, which is partially completed. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Developing the Rosemont site represents the best opportunity for the state of Illinois to quickly realize significant economic benefits from a new casino," said Park Place president and chief executive officer Wallace R. Barr. "The Rosemont location is easily accessible to more potential customers than any other in the state, and a significant amount of work already has gone into site preparation. That means that a new casino at Rosemont can begin delivering revenue to the state sooner than a new casino in any other location."
"Caesars is the best-known casino brand in the world. It will be a valuable asset in attracting new visitors to the Chicagoland market. Because of our diverse worldwide operations, extensive development expertise and longtime reputation for honesty and integrity, Park Place is in a unique position to deliver to the state of Illinois the kind of top-quality, intelligently operated and profitable casino that it is seeking," Barr said. —by Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
