American casino operator, Rush Street Gaming, has reportedly unveiled a plan that would see it partner with counterpart Churchill Downs Incorporated in order to build and operate a 1,625-seat gambling venue in the northern Illinois city of Waukegan.

According to a Thursday report from Crain’s Chicago Business, the proposal is to involve the pair constructing their facility complete with a poker room and a Luxbar gastro-pub on 32 acres of city-owned land in the community’s southwestern suburbs. Rush detailed that such a finished development would create full-time employment for approximately 1,200 people subsequent to around 900 construction jobs.

Stiff competition:

The newspaper reported that the Waukegan scheme from Rush Street Gaming, which is already responsible for the Rivers Casino Des Plains riverboat venue near Chicago’s giant O’Hare International Airport, and Louisville-headquartered Churchill Downs Incorporated is now due to be considered alongside five others ahead of the Monday release of a city-picked shortlist. From there, the selected plans are to purportedly undergo further scrutiny before officials in the Lake County community submit their final recommendation to the Illinois Gaming Board in advance of an October 25 deadline.

Prominent portfolio:

Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Rush Street Gaming also runs Rivers Casino and Resort Schenectady in New York alongside Pennsylvania’s Rivers Casino Pittsburgh and SugarHouse Casino. The firm’s move into Waukegan purportedly came after Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker put his signature to legislation in late-June that is to see the Midwestern state license up to six additional casinos including facilities for the cities of Danville, Rockford and Chicago.

Privileged position:

Greg Carlin, Chief Executive Officer for Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, reportedly used an official statement to proclaim that his firm is hoping to be given permission to construct ‘a leading entertainment destination’ and that it would be ‘an honor to bring the Rivers brand and experience to Waukegan.’