Business & Tech
Niles Mayor Visits Des Plaines Casino, Reacts Favorably
Callero, who favored expanding gambling in Niles, hopes Niles venues will benefit from casino traffic.
On Sunday, the day before Rivers Casino officially opened in Des Plaines, Niles Mayor Robert Callero attended the VIP party intended to showcase the facility to local notables.
"It's a beautiful place. It was quite crowded, and it seemed like everybody was enjoying themselves," said Callero.
Earlier:
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"It was a beautiful presentation."
Earlier this year, Callero spoke out in favor of expanding gambling in Niles. He had urged the Niles Village Board to pursue allowing video gaming in the village, arguing that Niles bars needed it so they wouldn't lose customers to neighboring municipalities who offered it.
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The majority of the trustees with some arguing that, after Niles received the "," designation last December from Bloomberg/Business Week, the village needed to preserve its family-friendly reputation. Expanding gambling, some trustees said, would undermine that.
Ironically, the day after the Niles board turned thumbs down on video gaming, the Illinois Appellate Court called the capital bill, that would have established video gaming in Illinois. Without it, the implementation of video gaming could not go forward within the state.
On Monday, the voted to declare the bill constitutional, overruling the Appellate Court.
While no more new gambling will be coming to Niles in the immediate future, Callero is still hoping that considering Des Plaines' proximity to Niles, some casino-goers will stop and spend money in Niles on their way to or from the casino.
He took a neighborly approach.
"We wish Des Plaines a lot of luck," he said.
Niles trustees Chris Hanusiak and Louella Preston said Tuesday night they had not had a chance to go to the new casino. Other Niles trustees did not respond to an email asking for their impressions of it.
Rivers Casino, at 3000 S. River Road, Des Plaines, has 44,000 square feet of gaming area and seven dining options. Operated by Midwest Gaming and Entertainment, it created 1,000 permanent jobs in addition to construction jobs, according to its printed advertisements.
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