The Illinois Gaming Board has picked a subsidiary of Wind Creek Hospitality, which the Poarch Band of Creek Indians controls, for a highly wanted commercial casino license in the Chicago south suburbs.

Wind Creek takes step to securing final license

Last Friday, the board ruled that they found the Wind Creek Hospitality affiliate, Wind Creek Illinois LLC, suitable to build a proposed $440 million, 64,000-square-foot casino spanning the Homewood and East Hazel Creek communities.

Following the Illinois Gaming Board’s decision, the corporation can now begin seriously planning, bidding, and obtaining local permissions.

Wind Creek Hospitality anticipates the casino will operate in 2023, barring any legal objections from competitors or construction concerns. Wind Creek won the lone casino license in the Southland area, defeating South Suburban Development’s $300 million project, which the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma would have run.

The pick comes after a multi-year attempt to develop a casino in the Southland was made possible by the state’s addition of several new commercial gaming licenses in 2019.

Other plans, projected to cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars, included a proposal by the Ho-Chunk Nation to join Lynwood’s city on a casino resort and a concept for a casino near Calumet City from private firm Southland Casino Live.

Tribal Business News previously reported on the possible windfall for communities surrounding the new casino.

The operator has predicted that the project will provide 800 full-time employment and 600 temporary jobs during construction. Additionally, the organization vowed to establish the Southland Public Benefit Fund, which would donate $10 million to local schools and health services and generate an initial revenue of between $156 million and $158 million in its first year.

Quotes from the Press Release

“Wind Creek Illinois is honored to have been found preliminary appropriate by the Illinois Gaming Board today for the south suburban casino license,” Wind Creek Hospitality CEO and President Jay Dorris said in a statement.

“Throughout this process, we have reaffirmed our belief that we offer the best location in and for the south suburban region — and that we will fulfill our commitments to job creation, community and economic investment, sustained operational excellence, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout the construction and operation process.”