The billionaire Pritzker family has held financial interests in casinos for decades. Now Illinois Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker could reap $3.27 million from the proposed $327.5 million sale of the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin to Reno-based Eldorado Resorts Inc., in which he holds a 1 percent interest according to financial and campaign disclosures.
If the Illinois Gaming Board okays the deal and it goes through as expected by the end of the year, Pritzker, if he wins, would be free of a difficult situation. However, if the deal collapses or gets hung up, and Pritzker takes office in January, he could encounter ethical conflicts since governors are authorized to appoint members to the Illinois Gaming Board. Thus, he could be involved in discussions about gambling expansion that could have an impact on his investment. Pritzker would be the first known Illinois governor to hold an interest in a state casino license.
However, his spokeswoman Galia Slayen said, “JB has had zero involvement in the management of this company and trusts benefitting him own less than two percent of the business, and therefore less than one percent of the Grand Victoria. If elected, JB will divest from any asset he personally owns that does business with the state of Illinois or would receive any kind of government benefit from the state.”
Pritzker is among the investors in Illinois RBG, the limited liability corporation that holds a 50-percent share of the Grand Victoria. Pritzker disclosed his interest in Illinois RBG last November when he submitted nominating petitions to run for governor. Other Illinois RBG investors include sister Penny Pritzker, who valued her share in the LLC at between $5 million and $25 million in a federal ethics statement she filed in 2017 as U.S. Commerce secretary. The other 50 percent of the Grand Victoria is owned by MGM Resorts International.
Former Illinois Gaming Board Administrator and federal prosecutor Sergio Acosta said, “There could be a conflict in the sense that limiting, for example, video gaming may be something that would be beneficial to a particular riverboat casino. That would raise the issue of…if the governor is supporting particular legislation, is it because of a personal interest or because of the public good?”
Center for Public Integrity Chief Executive Officer John Dunbar added, “The idea that a governor would have an interest in a gambling establishment is the ultimate conflict of interest, and it’s entirely improper. Anybody who would enter office owning a piece of a casino, it would be really, really wrong, and they would need to divest in my view.”
The Grand Victoria Casino opened October 6, 1994. It posted peak revenue in 2007 of $436.7 million. Revenue declined following the opening of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines in 2011 and the spread of video gambling machines. Last year it posted $168.7 million in adjusted gross receipts, up from $163.5 million in 2016, according to Illinois Gaming Board data. It ranks third in revenue after Rivers Casino and Harrah’s Casino in Joliet.
