My take so far is that Lightfoot had the feasibility study done mostly to prove that the current structure isn't financially viable (the 72% tax), and she is not concerned with the precise location at this time. In her statements yesterday she continued to deflect back to this point when reporters asked questions about which location she currently favored. However, she eventually reiterated that she wants the Casino to spark economic development on the South/West side. This could be political even though she knows that closer to downtown makes more sense, but we don't know yet. I do like the fact that she seems to be taking an unemotional, data-driven approach to evaluating the feasibility of a casino in Chicago. Fingers crossed.

I've been intrigued by the defunct Holiday Inn location across from the Old Post Office.
Downtown adjacent, few residential neighbors, room to expand?, incredible transit access.

It's a good thing we (at least appear to be headed toward) are going back to the drawing board. If a casino is going to happen, let's at minimum avoid a disaster from the get-go. Location and financial structure need a thorough re-think.

Only a block from a Blue Line station is "incredible transit access?"

Tell a potential visitor, in 20 words or fewer, how to get there by transit from Water Tower Place.

Take the red line south to Jackson. Transfer to the blue line and get off at Clinton. Then you're there!

or, alternatively
Just put it in google maps, and do what the phones says

LOL!

that's a true generation gap marker right there.

has anyone under the age of 30 literally asked another human being for directions, ever?

Mr. D's concerns have gone the way of the dodo.

It's also two blocks away from the Union Station bus terminal, so yeah, it has great transit access.

A gambler can afford a $10 Uber.

Hell the casino could arrange a discount whenever it is the destination I bet.

When I’m on the bus, and some suburban boomer asks the driver where the bus goes, while holding their phone...

Angry.

This whole casino issue is a total cluster fuck and how they fix it I don't know.

It has to go back to Springfield to make it work and it needs to be downtown, period to make a real return.


There are tons of articles out there today. Blair Kamin made the most perinate suggestions.


I wont even provide one link because if you searched it you could find 10 articles from today and yesterday alone.


This is Lightfoots big agenda to fix.


She should work with Pritzker to make it workable otherwise Chicago will never see a casino in a lifetime.


Whos idea was it for them to take 74% of all of the gross?


Like how greedy can you get.



No major casino owners could even make a slight profit at that insane rate.




This is a major fubar beyond a doubt.



This is her most important decision, and Pritzker needs to get real


no tourists will ever venter into a no go zone to play for money.


This needs to be high end, period. Don't fuck this up Lightfoot.


Ok just one link


https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...kiy-story.html


Column: A consultant disses Lightfoot’s casino sites. Now what?

By Blair Kamin

Chicago Tribune |
Aug 14, 2019 | 3:23 PM




So a consultant has branded five casino sites floated by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, all on the South and West Sides, as out-of-the-way losers.
Which raises the question: If the casino must be downtown, where should it go?

…


All kidding aside, this casino stuff is serious business. It’s the first high-profile building project that will bear Lightfoot’s imprint. It could throw off enough profit to help Chicago climb out of its financial hole.



…



Not only did the state-hired consultants, Las Vegas-based Union Gaming Analytics, conclude that “onerous” taxes and fees imposed by the city and state would discourage private casino operators from investing in any of the five sites.


….


Wherever a downtown casino goes, it will be at odds with Lightfoot’s agenda of spreading development to the South and West sides.
It will be no easy task to balance her commendable drive for equity with the pressing need to balance Chicago’s books.

Actually, where the bus goes is a tough question to answer using the phone. The only place you can see route-specific maps is as PDFs a couple of levels deep in the Pace or CTA website. And, of course, your phone has no way of knowing what run you're on, and if it's a short-turn at Western or goes all the way to Midway.

Yes, but the front of the bus tells you exactly where it's going

Well, transit from Water Tower Place is pretty suboptimal to get from most other places downtown by that measure. It is really easy to pick in almost any city random locales where it isn't the most convenient to use PT to get from location to another if one is looking not to connect them for the sake of an argument.

If say we were talking about getting to the OPO location/Holiday Inn lot from say O'Hare, Wicker Park, or Logan Square then it is pretty darn accessible via the Blue Line. It is also pretty darn close for any train riders using Union Station, bus riders using Greyhound, and those with cars from just about anywhere given that Jane Byrne is an 1/8 mile away.

The insinuation by you that it is in some sort of transit desert and not one of the most accessible locations, if not THE most, for all types of transit in the whole metro area is totally absurd.

Also, take the 151 to the end and then walk two blocks is probably an acceptable answer...

My friend and I made a phone app 7 years ago for CTA where you can put in the bus route number (or pick from your favorites) and it will draw the route on the map for you and also draw every single stop on the map. If you tap on the stop, it tells you when the next busses are coming. Also works for the trains.. but not PACE or Metra. Just CTA.

This data has been available on s public api for years. I'm sure other people have used it how we did since then.

I still remember when cell phones weren't a thing, so you call up someone on the house phone, make plans to meet up, you have to be pretty specific with directions and what the meetup place looks like, and then arrive at the destination and wait for them not know when they were going to show up or if they got lost trying to get there.

Haha, I grew up just on the end of the house phone era. I got my first cell phone at 17, but before that I guess I always just went to peoples houses to hang out as a kid, or in high school I would meet at their house first and then drive somewhere together. I never had to meet people at 3rd locations. That must have been pretty difficult back then if the person didn't show up haha.

The good old days :)

I can’t imagine how slow it was to do business before the internet. It would take a week to set up a group meeting.

I'm 37. I didn't have a cell 'till I was like 24, I went all through college without one. True story. I think I thought it was pretty punk rock I didn't own one. No doubt I am am outlier.