Off-Track Betting Parlor Opens in Bolingbrook at McQ's Sports Dome

Bolingbrook's only off-track betting parlor is set to officially open at McQ's Sports Dome next week. 

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The Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting for the businesses on Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. McQ's Sports Dome is located at 730 N Bolingbrook Dr. 

McQ's will host "Chicago's Biggest Derby Infield Party" May 4 for the Kentucky Derby. There will be live music, BBQ, beer, cash and prize drawings. 

McQ's Owner James McWethy acquired the previously-named Ditka Sports Dome last March and renovated the location. The OTB parlor will be a "perfect compliment" to his facility, he said. 

McWethy had small concerns about the dingy stereotypes of OTB parlors, but those went away when he visited other locations in Illinois. 

"The concerns people have are unfounded," McWethy said. "If those concerns were valid, we would not be doing it...These are all very classy places -- very nice restaurants and sports bars...I would not want to be involved in anything not first-class." 

"A difficult decision" 

When the village board unanimously approved the OTB in January, Mayor Roger Claar said the vote was difficult for him and the village trustees.

"Some people ask why we would want that kind of revenue," Claar said. "I don't see it that way. Fifteen years ago I may have." 

Claar said he had been approached for two or three other off-track betting establishments in Bolingbrook over the last 15 to 20 years. He turned down those requests. 

His opinion of OTB parlors changed when he visited an OTB in Oak Brook and found a "first-rate establishment." 

"If we don't get revenue this way, the other way is to raise taxes," Claar said. "We need to find the resources we can." 

Jeff Kras of Hawthorne Race Course, Inc., said an OTB parlor opened in Glendale Heights last spring has taken in $10 million in wagering and provided $200,000 in increased tax revenue, which is evenly split between Glendale Heights and its county. 

Kras said the Bolingbrook location, having similar demographics, could expect similar results in its first year.