The Illinois Gaming Board claims Heidner made an “illegal inducement” to keep his slot machines in a chain of gambling parlors. Barely two months ago, video gambling magnate Rick Heidner was. The Monthly Revenue Report is a compilation of each casino's respective receipts, admissions and tax allocation information pertaining to gaming. Every casino in Illinois is required to submit to the Illinois Gaming Board a monthly report detailing information of the respective casino's admissions, receipts and gaming data.
Cracking down on an illegal video gambling operator, Illinois Gaming Board has moved to revoke its license. The gambling regulator has alleged that the gambling operator had offered a $5 million “illegal inducement.”
According to an Associated Press report, Heidner was “allegedly told his Gold Rush Gaming would have its machines removed from 44 establishments owned by Laredo Hospitality Ventures because of the company’s new owner, according to a December Gaming Board complaint.”
However, a few days after the complaint was made, Heidner allegedly made an offer to acquire Laredo. The deal for $5 million was never finalized.
According to the existing gambling regulations in Illinois, it is a felony to give “anything of value to an establishment as an incentive or inducement to locate (video gambling terminals) in that establishment.”
While the gambling regulator is moving to revoke the video gambling operator’s license, Heidner himself hasn’t been charged for a felony. A representative on behalf of the gambling operator has rubbished the allegations and said that they are not true.
Refuting the allegations spokesman Randall Samborn explained that both Gold Rush and Rick Heidner willfully oppose the allegations and has termed it as an “orchestrated smear campaign” against the operator. He said that they will challenge the license revocation before the gambling regulator and will also fight it in court.
Earlier, Heidner’s name appeared in an FBI search warrant of then-state Sen. Martin Sandoval’s offices. However, the current governor J.B Pritzker who also signed the massive gambling expansion bill in Illinois earlier this year has overturned the previous decision of the governor’s office to state-owned land to Heidner for a racetrack and casino project.
Illinois Video Gaming Reports
Source: https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/12/26/illinois-gaming-board-rick-heidner-gold-rush-gaming-license/ , https://www.chicagotribune.com/investigations/ct-rick-heidner-video-gambling-license-revocation-20191218-hksxbsjwnnhnvlyjidassomj5m-story.html