Re: visiting Chicago
 

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I think space is one serious constraint that limits the opportunity they have in Gary. With the riverboats, there isn't that much space for a nice casino with lots of amenities. Sure you can put some of the gaming off the boat, but you don't want your gamblers to leave the boat.

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The "flotation requirement" by itself isn't a sufficient argument. The Ameristar boats in St. Louis and KC both float; at one point, they were (and may still be) two of the ten largest casino floors in the nation, at 200,000 square feet apiece.

I'm new to Indiana, and there may be a raft of other legislative details I'm not aware of. (For example, the Illinois riverboats are restricted by law in the number of slot machines each one can have; there may be similar restrictions here.)

But the bigger problem, in my mind, is that each property seems to want to wall itself off from its neighbors. Yes, they compete with each other; but cooperative ventures in transportation and lodging would be perfectly legitimate. The municipalities should encourage this concept, and promote northwest Indiana as "THE" gambling destination for Chicago and the upper Midwest. Call it the Chicago Casino Corridor or something.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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Legally, the gambling has to be on the water, hence the boats.

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oops, that was a typo. I meant you can put some of the ameneties off the boat, but you don't want the gamblers leaving the boat where they won't be able to lose their money.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Go to johnie's in river forest i think and get an italian beef. forget poker. yum.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

They wall themselves off because the surrounding area sucks. Bad. I wouldn't walk through Gary at night if you paid me.

Re: visiting Chicago
 

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They wall themselves off because the surrounding area sucks. Bad. I wouldn't walk through Gary at night if you paid me.

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But couldn't the same thing be said about Atlantic City?

Re: visiting Chicago
 

Gary is the murder capital of America, per capita. I don't think AC comes close to this.