Casino, Bulls reach deal
Gives ‘huge voice’ to Wind Creek development
Wind Creek Hospitality, which is building the south suburban casino, has announced a partnership with the Chicago Bulls under which the Wind Creek Chicago Southland Casino and Resort will become the team’s official casino.
Wind Creek and the Bulls said the six-year agreement will include in-game promotions and that fans attending games at the United Center or watching on television will begin seeing signs about Wind Creek. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Work got underway in September on the casino, southwest of the interchange of Interstate 80 and Halsted Street.
The 70,000-square-foot casino and 252-room hotel will be in East Hazel Crest. On land directly south, in Homewood, parking garages will be built.
The two suburbs had formed a partnership several years ago in an effort to attract a casino to the south suburbs.
Wind Creek previously estimated the casino would be ready for customers by late summer or early fall of 2023, but unforeseen delays are making late 2023 or early 2024 as the more likely targets to open, officials have said.
“As a new brand coming to the Chicagoland market, we believed it was important to establish a name for ourselves and a level of credibility with the local market as quickly as possible,” said Brent Pinkston, Wind Creek chief operating officer, in announcing the partnership.
Wind Creek Hospitality is an authority of the Alabama-based Poarch Band of Creek Indians and manages the tribe’s gaming facilities, which include casinos and horse racing tracks.
“It lets us enter the market with a huge voice,” Pinkston said.
Apart from signage and other branding inside United Center, the collaboration will include digital content and social media sweepstakes, according to the Bulls, which said Wind Creek will also provide south suburban community groups with tickets to two Bulls games this season.
Wind Creek and the Bulls said the partnership and promotional events will expand as the casino opens.
“We are excited to partner with Wind Creek over the next few
seasons to bring fans new in-arena competitions, social content and sweepstakes,” Mark Levitt, the Bulls’ vice president of business development, said in a news release. “This new partnership will support our ongoing efforts to further elevate the gameday experience for Bulls fans at the United Center and across our social platforms.”
The Bulls said a highlight of the partnership is Wind Creek’s “Hi-Lo” in-game competition where a randomly selected fan is shown a jersey number of a current or former Bulls player on the scoreboard and asked to guess if the following jersey will have a higher or lower number than the previous. If the winner correctly guesses each time, their entire row will win a free bag of Garrett popcorn.
Initial prizes awarded during Bulls games will include branded merchandise, trips to existing Wind Creek properties and prizes that winners will be able to use once the Southland venue opens, according to Ken Rohman, chief marketing officer for Wind Creek.
Signs promoting Wind Creek are already in place at the United Center, and promotions have already started and will accelerate as the holidays and new year approach, he said.
Wind Creek had won preliminary approval from state gaming regulators last December to open the casino, edging out a competing bid from Matteson.
In presentations to the Illinois State Gaming Board, Wind Creek officials said their project would create the most financial benefits for the region and keep gambling dollars from the south suburbs that now flow to casinos in northwest Indiana.
Under a revenue sharing agreement, East Hazel Crest and Homewood would keep 2% of monthly adjusted gross receipts, or the revenue left after winning bets are paid, while another 3% would be shared among dozens of other area suburbs.
Wind Creek has estimated $3 million in tax revenue would flow annually to Homewood and East Hazel Crest, and another $4 million a year to the other communities.
Wind Creek officials said rising prices for key materials such as steel and precast concrete, have forced it to make some changes, primarily to a planned hotel, but the size and amenities of the casino have not changed.
The hotel will still contain 252 rooms, but the height of the tower has been reduced to 16 floors from the original 21.
The project will create about 600 construction jobs, according to Wind Creek, and, once open to patrons, is expected to create about 800 permanent jobs.