In Illinois, the video gambling industry operates more than 24,000 machines throughout the state. Since the machines went live in 2012, players have spent more than billion in bets, generating 4 million in state and local taxes. Most of that revenue, .8 billion, is divided among the thousands of small establishments that offer the machines and the 55 companies that own and lease out the machines. In the past eight years, the industry has contributed more than million to Illinois politicians, according to election documents. Pete Pontius, director of loss prevention and compliance for video gambling machine owner B&B Amusement, explained, “Giving money to politicians allows us to educate them to make decisions.”
For example, in February 2014, Blackhawk Restaurant Group, the largest gambling parlor chain in the state, gave $1,000 to the political fund of Elmwood Park Mayor Angelo “Skip” Saviano, who also serves as the suburb’s liquor commissioner. Eight days later Blackhawk applied for a liquor license, which it received. Since then Blackhawk has given another $2,000 to Saviano. Since August 2014, Blackhawk has taken in $622,000 from its video gambling machines in Elmwood Park. “If people want to participate in the political process, they can, and they will. Sometimes, they give. Sometimes, they don’t,” Saviano said.
Blackhawk Restaurant Group also gave $1,000 to the campaign of Oakbrook Terrace Mayor Tony Ragucci in October 2012. The next day the town’s board awarded the company a liquor license. Today Blackhawk has 15 machines in three locations in Oakbrook Terrace, generating $1.3 million since the machines began operation in December 2013. “Every business in my town has the option to contribute to my campaign fund,” Ragucci said, noting he did not vote on Blackhawk’s liquor license.
In Berwyn, between September 2012 and September 2016, Mayor Robert Lovero received $13,600 from gambling interests. Of that amount, $11,600 came from Gold Rush Amusements, one of the state’s largest gambling machine operators, and its top executive. Gold Rush-owned machines in 14 Berwyn locations have generated for the company more than $1.4 million since it began leasing them in October 2012.
One of the smaller video machine companies, Fair Share Gaming, gave $1,500 to the campaign fund of Blue Island Mayor Domingo Vargas. The company has machines in the clubhouse of the city-owned golf course, and five other locations that together generated $1.2 million since December 2012.
Video gambling is banned in Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel supports a city casino. Since 2012, video gambling interests have given more than $83,000 to Chicago-area mayors, who, like Saviano, often serve as liquor commissioner. In addition, in the past two years, video gambling interests also have contributed $78,200 to elected officials. The largest share came from Gold Rush, which has taken in $46 million from more than 1,400 machines. Gold Rush Chief Executive Officer Rick Heidner assumes Chicago eventually will allow video gambling, “maybe not when Mayor Rahm Emanuel is mayor but maybe in the future under a different mayor.”
One year ago, Gold Rush gave $1,000 to Alderman Raymond Lopez, 16 days before he sponsored a proposed ordinance in the Chicago city council to allow gambling. Of the council’s 50 members, 24 aldermen signed on as co-sponsors of the proposal; since then it has not moved from the finance committee. Lopez, who received another $2,000 from Gold Rush in April, said video gambling could bring the city millions of dollars, so it could avoid “tapping the same well of property taxes.”Leading up to the vote,
Gold Rush gave $2,500 to the campaigns of co-sponsors Alderwoman Milly Santiago and $1,500 to Alderwoman Emma Mitts), who received a second, smaller contribution from the company in March. Just days before the proposal was introduced, Gold Rush gave $1,000 to another co-sponsor, Alderman Proco Joe Moreno, who said, “I think the moral argument on gambling has been had, and it has been basically won by the side that says we want gambling in the cities.”
