Time Warner Cable News is digging deep into the potential future for Rivers Casino in Schenectady. To do that, we are exploring other properties, owned by Rivers' parent company, Rush Street Gaming. Earlier this month, reporter Geoff Redick traveled just outside Chicago, Illinois -- to a community that has had a Rivers Casino for five years.
DES PLAINES, Ill. -- No one can perfectly predict the future. It is what keeps gamblers coming back to the table for “the thrill of the unknown.”
In business though, where the stakes are much higher, merchants and cities prefer more assurance of success. And unlike coin flips or blackjack hands, the history of one business often informs the future of another.
With that in mind, Time Warner Cable News traveled in June to Des Plaines, Illinois: the home of Rivers Casino-Des Plaines. The casino is a property of Rush Street Gaming, LLC -- the same company now building a casino in Schenectady.
Des Plaines and Schenectady are similar, in some ways. Des Plaines is home to 58,000 people, while Schenectady’s population is around 66,000. Demographically, both cities are majority white; Schenectady’s second-largest group is African-American, while Des Plaines splits evenly between Eastern European and Asian descent.
There are differences, too. As a northern suburb of Chicago, Des Plaines is affluent: median income is $65,953 and the poverty rate just 7.8 percent. Comparably, Schenectady’s median income is just $38,916 with a poverty rate higher than 20 percent.
While many of Des Plaines’ residents commute to Chicago for work, the city supports its own growing workforce. 65% of the city’s population is of working age, between 18 and 64 years old. Historically, major industries have included warehousing for trucking companies, chemical manufacturing plants, healthcare at the local Presence Health hospital, and educational jobs at Oakton Community College.
Just five years ago, though, a new employer added 1,200 jobs to Des Plaines’ economy. In the half-decade since, Rivers Casino has ballooned to 1,500 employees.
“The biggest local aspect of the casino is jobs. And they’re good jobs,” said Marty Moylan, a Democrat and Des Plaines’ member in the Illinois House of Representatives. “You have a place to go. You have a sense of self-worth.”
Moylan was Des Plaines’ mayor in 2008 when the state of Illinois approved its tenth casino to be built in the city. Moylan helped foster the deal that awards Des Plaines about $9 million each year in lost revenue.
He was still in office, and on hand for the grand opening, in 2011.
“Generally, it’s been very positive,” he said. “You have to count the positive aspects: the jobs, helping the local tax base, and bringing people into the town to spend money.”
Rivers does draw a healthy amount of gamblers: open 22 hours a day, seven days a week, the casino averages 9,000 patrons per day. Many come from Chicago, or visit the casino during long layovers at nearby O’Hare International Airport. Rivers runs a shuttle bus to various locales, including the airport and local train station, to ease prospective gamblers’ access to the casino.
The high customer count has translated into massive earnings. Rivers Casino-Des Plaines grosses more than $38 million in monthly revenue, and has never dipped below $30 million in any month since opening. By contrast, the state’s next-most successful casino in Joliet, Illinois grosses about $14.6 million each month.
When counted per capita, representatives claim Rivers is one of the most successful casinos in the United States, even when matched against the powerhouses in Las Vegas.
Despite the success, Rivers’ shared revenue is split between so many factions that officials say it cannot be a “transformative” tool for any city. Des Plaines’ receives $9 million of the shared revenue each year, while sending millions more to Chicago’s struggling southern suburbs. The state of Illinois also takes $10 million each year, as part of a 30-year revenue deal.
“It isn’t going to be the economic redevelopment tool that everyone desires,” said Des Plaines city alderman Malcolm Chester.
Chester has nearly two decades of experience in the gambling industry, serving as a lobbyist for out-of-state Native American casinos in Wisconsin.
“What Schenectady should expect is an employer that does its best to be profitable,” Chester said.
That includes the company challenging property tax assessments, which it has done in Des Plaines -- and also creating an appealing gaming environment that encourages people to stay inside the casino, for hours at a time. But that’s not necessarily bad, says Chester.
“They will hire people. They will be charitable donors to the community. They’ll build a nice property, and it will be managed well,” he said. “If they have a whole development built around it (in Schenectady), and driven by the casino, and if there’s a good visitor base, it will work all the better.”
*All demographic statistics from the 2010 U.S. Census.
In Part Two of “All In: A Future with Rivers Casino,” we’ll take a closer look at the charitable donations and community benefit provided by the casino in Des Plaines, Illinois. Look for it Tuesday on Time Warner Cable News.