[VIDEO] New City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz says video gambling isn’t right for Evanston and he expects the City Council to ban the potential revenue source.
[VIDEO] New City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz says video gambling isn’t right for Evanston and he expects the City Council to ban the potential revenue source.
The state last month legalized video gambling machines in bars, restaurants and clubs to foot some of a $31 billion capital bill. Under the law each licensed establishment could have up to five machines.
The city would reap 5 percent of the machines’ “net terminal income,” or how much gamblers lose to the devices. But the state law allows municipalities to bar the machines from their communities.
Despite troubled finances, the city council views the machines unfavorably, and bar owners in Evanston are not particularly enthusiastic about the idea either.