Construction Begins on Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino

Written by Judy Lamelza | Jun 11, 2022 2:45:12 PM

Construction of the Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino is set to begin south of Interstate 80-294 at Halsted Street on the border of Homewood and East Hazel Crest in Illinois. Local officials and casino leaders had a groundbreaking last week for the 70,000 square foot casino and adjacent hotel tower.

The Shelbyville News states that the project will include the following:

- 1350 slot machines

- 56 table games

- Entertainment space

- Dining

- 252-room Luxury hotel

- Other amenities

The casino is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

The Illinois Gaming Board in December selected Wind Creek Hospitality, a commercial enterprise of the Alabama-based Native American tribe, to develop the south suburban casino authorized in 2019 by the Illinois General Assembly after decades of lobbying by south suburban leaders.

The 70,000 square foot casino and hotel tower, with long distance views of downtown Chicago, are expected to employ 800 workers on a permanent basis, in addition to creating 600 construction jobs.

A portion of the revenue from the casino and related development will go toward the state of Illinois, south suburban communities and the Southland Public Benefit Fund to support health care services for south suburban residents and college scholarships for disadvantaged students.

"Our commitment to this community has already begun and will only be strengthened as we move our focus to job creation and finalizing the details of the Southland Public Benefit Fund. People across the Southland have been waiting for this casino and the community investment that comes along with it, and we are happy to be taking concrete steps to see this dream realized."

President and CEO of Wind Creek Hospitality | Jay Dorris

The Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino will be located six miles west of the Illinois-Indiana state line and will be about 80% of the size of the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana that's next to the Interstate 80/94 at Burr Street in Gary, six miles east of the Indiana-Illinois state line. It is not yet known how this casino will impact the four gaming destinations in Northwest Indiana or its prospects for success with a nearly four-times larger Illinois casino due to be built in the coming years in downtown Chicago near the Loop.

The hotel at the south suburban casino will be about the same size as the high-rise hotel at the Ameristar Casino on Lake Michigan in East Chicago.

Northwest Indiana casino leaders say they are not worried about Wind Creek because the brand is unknown in the Region and the rewards with the loyalty programs for the Northwest Indiana casino parent company - Caesars, Penn National, Hard Rock and Boyd Gaming - are more appealing to casino guests.

YOGONET Gaming News reports that Wind Creek, East Hazel Crest and Homewood will contribute to the Southland Public Benefit Fund. The Fund will distribute $150,000 per year to the combined recipients for the first five years of operation; and once the Fund corpus reaches $20 million, it will distribute $1,000,000 annually.

Jay Dorris stated that based on initial projects, he estimates a year-one net revenue of $155.6 million and year-seven net revenue of $201 million. The easy access to I-80 creates a solid foundation for the casino and one that will maximize revenue and bring sustained benefits to the entire south suburban region.

The Wind Creek casino, the south region’s only casino license handed out in the 2021 IGB decision, will join other existing properties in the south suburban area, including Harrah’s and Hollywood venues in Joliet, which have been operating for nearly 30 years now.

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