Chicago City Wire

Mirroring successful politicking in his native Chicago, the nation’s most corrupt city, Midwest gambling magnate billionaire Neil Gary Bluhm is rolling the dice on a casino located next to Penn Station in New York City. 

According to the New York Post, Bluhm is partnered with Vornado, the second largest commercial property owner in New York City, on a bid to develop the casino. Bluhm’s family are co-owners of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox franchises. But critics say Bluhm – who is worth a reported $6 billion – has used political connections all the way up to the past two Democrat presidents to build his Rush Street Gaming enterprise. The operator is one of the newer ones on the national scene. Beginning only in 1998, Rush Street Gaming now owns and operates Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Ill. If successful, the development would be his second in New York where he controls Rivers Casino in Schenectady in upstate New York. He also has developed and maintains other sites in Pennsylvania.

“A source confirmed that chairman Steven Roth is talking to Midwest gaming mogul Neil Gary Bluhm, the managing principal of Walton Street Capital,” the New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo and Josh Kosman reported.  

DraftKings and FanDuel, two would-be competitors, were prevented by lawmakers from participating in the bidding process for Illinois casino licenses. iGaming Times reports Bluhm was the beneficiary of the lack of competition. In protest, DraftKings and FanDuel vowed to air attack ads against Bluhm. But fellow Chicago Democrat billionaire Gov. J.B. Pritzker reportedly stepped in to persuade TV stations not to air a $1 million ad campaign. Jason Robbins, CEO of DraftKings, took to Twitter to lament the decision. 

“Imagine if your entire competitive strategy was to lobby to keep the best products out of the market,” Robbins said on Twitter. 

Robbins also tweeted directly at Blouhm’s enterprise. 

“How bad must you think your own product is? (I would tweet this at Greg Carlin but I don’t think he’s on Twitter),” Robbins tweeted to Rush Street Gaming’s account.

Bluhm’s connections to Illinois Democrats run deep. He has contributed to the campaigns of several disgraced Democrats whose careers ended in scandal including former governor and ex-con Rod Blagojevich, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, and close Madigan confidant former State Rep. Lou Lang. Other notable beneficiaries include former Vice President Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and former Attorney General Lisa Madigan. All Democrats. He was a major fundraiser for former president Barak Obama who served in the Illinois State Senate representing Chicago before becoming the state’s U.S. Senator and then president.

Bluhm's daughter, Leslie Bluhm, was paid off with a seat on the Board of Directors for Americorps after helping President Joe Biden’s campaign. “Like her father, billionaire Neil Bluhm, Bluhm is a big backer of Democratic political campaigns and causes. She served as a bundler for Joe Biden’s presidential bid. And she's donated to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's campaigns,” Politico reported.