Video gambling up, but few in the burbs

Posted by Mike Riopell on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 11:16

As long-awaited video gambling machines went live in 65 bars across the state yesterday, there wasn't a lot of video poker being played in the suburbs.

Out of the 65 locations that started taking gamblers yesterday, just four were in areas the Daily Herald typically covers: Lakemoor, Morton Grove, Hoffman Estates and Port Barrington.

Hoffman Estates and Port Barrington were already going as test sites for the program.

Others booted up in Harvard, Lemont and Berwyn.

Here's the full list.

More could go live in the coming weeks.

These machines are despised by anti-gambling advocates - perhaps as much as new casinos - because they spread gambling options far and wide, unlike a single new riverboat.

We'll be wondering: Will the existence of video gambling affect whether lawmakers override Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of the big gambling expansion plan after the election?

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