William Hill Race & Sports Book - Avi Resort & Casino

Not Financial Advice (NFA)
Warning: Wall of Text. If you hate reading just skim through the bolded/italicized
Ever since I publicized my findings on DKNG, the stock has underperformed & probably has fucked a lot of people here, especially given the overly bullish stance back in June. Unless you took my advice & got into Puts then, congrats, welcome to tendie town. For the ADHD retards, here’s what the next wall of text is going to summarize: I believe at the current price of ~$30, the stock is oversold.
A tech-focused, high-growth Company that has made sports betting easy to understand with an aesthetically pleasing interface similar to how Robinhood has neatly laid out stock market gimmicks so even high-schoolers can make sense of it I believe, is underpriced at these levels.
Let’s get into some details as to why the stock has underperformed:
First off, the news slate revolving sports with the rumored delay/cancellation of the MLB season & the NFL watching from the sidelines is in my view, just a part of why the stock has underperformed. We’ll revisit this later in this post, but I want to focus on the drivers of the stock’s recent underperformance, & why these factors are now in the rearview mirror.
Part I – The Past Has Passed – SPAC-related Equity Dilution
History lesson first: DKNG went public via a SPAC merger, which has exploded in popularity recently. Anyone serious about analyzing stocks going forward needs to do their homework on this, Google is your friend.
A feature of most SPAC merger to public listings that creates a headwind to near-term share prices are embedded equity dilution events, usually in the form of earn-outs (stock bonuses to execs, the SPAC sponsor) & conversion of Warrants.
On 5/24, the earn-outs were triggered, adding 6m shares to the share count.
On 6/26, 16.3m warrants converted to DKNG, netting them ~$188m of cash.
Stepping back a little, in addition to the above, on 6/18 DKNG launched a follow-on equity offering of 16M shares @ $40/Share [1], receiving $621M in proceeds.
The last part is tricky to understand from a dilution perspective. To simplify, historically it’s almost a coin toss whether a Company’s shares outperform on the onset of an equity offering. While issuing shares does dilute the existing shareholder base, it theoretically shouldn’t, if the proceeds from the offering are earmarked for investments/projects that yield outsized returns. This is the reality for the long term, theory for the short-term. For the short-term, the ‘reality’ isn’t that the proceeds will be used for investments/projects that yield outsized returns, it is more about how convincing management is to investors that the investments they intend to pursue with the proceeds will outweigh the dilutive effects of issuing incremental shares. That’s a mouthful, but hopefully you get what I’m trying to convey.
All of this stuff put together – the Company has increased its share count by ~39M, but now has a whopping ~$1.4Bn of cash [2]. More on this in the next section.
Part II – MLB News Should Not Fucking Matter & DKNG Is Positioned As the Leading Online/Mobile Sports Platform
DKNG should not be so tied to MLB news or any of this shit as the ongoing success of the NBA/NHL season + Soccer in Europe has effectively created a blueprint on how to regulate player behavior so that they maintain professionalism amidst the pandemic. I’m going out on a whim here, but I truly think the MLB threatening a cancellation of the season is pure posturing to get these fuckers to behave appropriately. Maybe a ‘bubble’ is what it takes to get these players to focus on their jobs instead of going out & contracting COVID, but I argue that isn’t necessarily required given Soccer in Europe. So there’s already a proven path here without the need for a bubble in Soccer, so MLB/NFL should be fine, and execs need to study how they got it done in Europe. Okay, back to some facts.
Anecdotally, I’ve kept in touch with a handful of sports bookies from California to New York & even internationally about what they’re seeing – all of them say that since the NBA season started on 7/30 & since Soccer (especially the Premier League) resumed in June, along with other leagues like La Liga & Serie A, they’ve seen massive increases in betting.
These numbers are also showing up in the official data [3]:

• Average % increase in sports betting handle from April 2020 to June 2020 (handle is the total $ wagered in sports bets) from the states that reported up to June 2020 (NJ, PA, MS, RI, WV, IA, IN, NH) of +258%!
  
  • Note: NV is left out due to the site I sourced showing a weirdly negative number – so I dug into the official filings & show specifically, Sports Mobile betting growth from June since April has growing by at least +73% [4]

REMEMBER: This is for June only! No NBA, No NHL, No MLB, just Soccer, Golf, NASCAR & UFC.
The data clearly shows that there was a ton of pent-up sports betting demand, which leads one Wall St. analyst to think that betting on the NBA/NHL could ABSORB the MLB’s sports betting handle (handle = total $ size of sports bet) [5]. Remember, the MLB season is still ongoing, with games being played. The entire focus is on the Miami Marlins & St. Louis Cardinals. Fucking retards.
Additionally, I want to remind everyone that DraftKings.com is the #1 Fantasy sports website in the U.S. [6]. Also, since April 2020 site visitations are up +86% [7] & Google Search Trends for “Draft Kings” is up ~3x compared to PRE-COVID levels [8]. What does this mean? They are piquing more people’s curiosity than prior to COVID/ongoing slate of sports.
This is important because remember that ~$1.4Bn chest full of cash I mentioned DKNG had assembled earlier? Well, that money is being put to work & results are already coming in, which is exactly what DKNG intended to do with it.
Part III – Legalization of Sports Betting in the U.S.
I could write a fucking bible on this topic alone, but for now we’ll stick to some basics. Due to COVID, it’s easy to understand that each State’s financial situation is clearly in shit. Because of this, you better believe that these guys are going to start taking a hard look at how they can extract additional tax revenues, & what’s one of the easiest ways to do this? Legalization & taxation of gambling.
The big players: CA, TX, FL & NY. First, CA pushing its legislation out to 2023 was fucked up, but here’s a twist I want to add to this: Anything that has to do with gambling in CA you better believe is lobbied against by not just the Tribal casino owners in CA, but by the deep pockets of Las Vegas money. Similar thing can be said for FL, but let’s take a look at some actions by LV/nationwide gambling companies that are starting to align financial incentives with guys like DKNG.

• MGM / GVC Holdings JV in BetMGM - $450m total invested
• PENN invests $163m into BS Sports
• Caesars has a 20% stake in William Hill plus partnership deals with The Stars Group (TSG) & our winner DKNG for operating its sports books

So it’s safe to say going forward, nationwide legalization of sports betting will reap rewards for everyone involved, & no longer be something LV money is completely focused on safeguarding.
Let’s also not forget that DKNG didn’t become the Company they are today because of their fancy app, but because their management team has a HISTORY of navigating the U.S.’s legal framework to get what they want out of it.

• The Crown Jewel – The Internet Gambling Prohibition & Enforcement Act: I said it in a previous post, but I want to emphasize that them getting Fantasy Sports to be labeled a ‘game of skill’ by FEDERAL Law as opposed to gambling is just something for the history books. Fucking genius shit. When this happened I bet every casino from LV to every Indian Tribe that has one was against it, yet DKNG & other DFS providers won.
• There’s more, but more recently: Getting into IL:
  
  • In IL, there’s an 18-month ‘penalty box’ for Companies that offer DFS to offer sports betting. Our guys at DKNG created a workaround to this situation with their partnership with Casino Queen [9]. DKNG being savvy again.

These guys are at the cutting edge of creating legal frameworks to successfully launch their products & now with more of their ‘competitors’ financially aligned with them, combined with financial deterioration of State budgets, we should see an overweighting of good news vs. bad on the legal front.
Final Part – Share Price Targets
Under-fucking priced at anything below $42.50
Near-term catalysts:
8/14: DKNG files 2Q’20 results, might be shitty, but you can bet that the Earnings Call is going to contain rhetoric on how massive the uptick in sports betting has been since late June/July.
Sometime from now until November: NY releases ‘study’ by Spectrum Gaming on online/mobile sports betting.
8/20 – 9/7: PGA Championship for FedEx Cup Title
9/5 – KY Derby
9/10: NFL KickOff Game
9/17: PGA U.S. Open Start Date
Month of October: NBA/NHL Playoffs
10/1: Estimated launch of online sports betting in TN
11/1: Estimated launch of online sports betting in VA
[1] https://draftkings.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/draftkings-announces-proposed-public-offering-class-common-stock
[2] Wall St. Research – DKNG on 6/29/20
[3] https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting/revenue/
[4] https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=16984; Note: Nevada did not break out April/May figures but from the Revenue difference of 3 month ended June 30 of 4,950 vs. month of June of 2,297 for a total difference of 2,653 spread evenly over April/May for a base case April estimate of 1,327.
[5] Wall St. Research - 7/27/20
[6] https://www.similarweb.com/top-websites/category/sports/fantasy-sports/
[7] https://www.similarweb.com/website/draftkings.com/#overview
[8] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?geo=US&q=draft%20kings Feb 23-29, 2020 vs. Current Aug 2 – Aug 8, 2020
[9] https://www.legalsportsreport.com/42314/draftkings-illinois-sports-betting-market-access/

On February 10th, CBS Sports and William Hill announced a strategic partnership that will make the U.K. based bookmaker the “Official Sports Book and Wagering Data Provider across all CBS Sports platforms.” William Hill will also gain the exclusive rights to market sports betting products on CBS Sports’ digital channels in the deal. Initial integrations will be in place in time for next month’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The ‘full’ roll-out is expected to be completed by the start of 2020 NFL season.
Howie Long-Short: William Hill has been looking to grow their brand in the U.S. for some time (co. currently has a significant presence in NJ and NV and retail books in MS, WV and IN), so aligning with CBS Sports - whose digital channels draw over 80 million unique visitors/mo. (2nd amongst U.S. sports properties behind only ESPN) - seemingly meets that objective. CBS also controls valuable live rights (see: March Madness, NFL) and as respected sports gambling consultant Sara Slane explained “exposure and integration on a broadcast channel - or channels in the case of March Madness - that everyone is consuming, is highly appealing.”
From the CBS Sports perspective, there’s seemingly little downside in the deal. The company is guaranteed to take in some new revenue (for access to their audience and the sponsorship of digital assets) and William Hill has a large enough footprint - remember, the bookmaker has a market access agreement in place with Eldorado Resorts (which has since acquired Caesars) - that they could realistically realize the upside built into the partnership.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the New York Times reported the incentive laden agreement “is aimed at getting CBS Sports users to download the William Hill betting app and put money into their betting accounts.” Slane says the wording within the story indicates there is limited financial outlay on William Hill’s part. “Operators are being very thoughtful about how they’re investing money [with so few states having gone live with sports betting]; particularly, as it relates to media and digital. An affiliate deal for deposits would be a smart approach for a [gaming entity] who wants to see a direct ROI on their investment.”
Sports betting operators see the current ‘land-grab’ environment and are aligning with media companies (see: MGM/Yahoo, TSG/FOX Sports, Barstool Sports/Penn National) in an attempt to cultivate new users. But it’s fair to ask - as Alun Bowden (Eilers & Krejcik Gaming) did - “why is [every gaming company] so keen to copy an expensive unproven model in a market where the price of failure is enormous and the potential for differentiation is massive?” It’s certainly hard to argue that the strategy, which varies across each of the partnerships referenced, works. DraftKings and FanDuel continue to dominate the U.S. market (i.e. not casino sportsbook operators + media companies) and Slane said that “while there were a couple of runs [made by gaming companies] at media partnerships in the U.K., Sky Betting & Gaming is the only one that has really been a success.”
If there’s a case to be made that the CBS Sports-William Hill deal will buck the trend, it should be made on the back of CBS Sports' robust database of fantasy sports players. As we’ve seen with DraftKings and FanDuel - who have both successfully converted DFS players to sports bettors - “there’s a huge overlap between fantasy gaming and sports betting.” Sports Handle EIC Brett Smiley estimated that “60% of those who participate in season-long fantasy and +/- 80% of those who play DFS have also placed a wager.”
Fan Marino: NBC and Sinclair are the last of the major U.S. sports media rights holders without a gaming partner. It’s reasonable to believe that both will ink agreements sooner than later if only because there are no shortage of operators looking to grow their market share and cash in on the perceived sports betting gold rush (in fact, Slane believes a second wave is coming) and to pass on a gaming partnership would be leaving money on the table. While it could be argued that in a market where bettors are not used to line-shopping (think: people are used to betting with a bookie or a single off-shore book here in the U.S.) there is a strong first mover advantage, Smiley believes it’s “a long game and that over time people will become exposed to more apps and more options” (i.e. potential new entrants to the market haven’t missed the boat). As we’ve previously noted, in the U.K. the average sports bettor has accounts with four different books.
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Sunday:
NORTH:
· 1. Pickup truck crashes into Round Lake house; no injuries reported (ABC 7)
· 2. Mundelein man killed in shooting near University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus; three other people injured (Chicago Tribune)
· 3. 67-year-old woman in critical condition after apparently falling off pier in Evanston (Chicago Tribune)
· 4. Five teens hospitalized after overdosing on Xanax, drinking alcohol at party in Tower Lakes (NBC 5)
· 5. Woman dies after her car veered off the road and struck a tree in Wadsworth (Chicago Tribune)
· 6. Man stabbed outside Ingleside bar; undergoes surgery for non-life-threating wound (Chicago Sun-Times)
NORTHWEST:
· 7. Judson University becomes first Christian college in Illinois to offer classes for students with intellectual disabilities (ABC 7)
· 8. Inaugural Kickstand Classic bicycle race rolls through downtown Bartlett (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 9. Naperville student's anti-cyberbullying app lands $100,000 investment on 'Shark Tank' (Chicago Tribune/Naperville Sun)
· 10. Glen Ellyn Historical Society's Tavern Day teaches community lessons about the 1840s (Daily Herald)
· 11. Nordstrom Rack officially opens at Rosemont's Fashion Outlets of Chicago (Daily Herald)
SOUTH:
· 12. Park Forest woman killed in crash on I-80 in Frankfort Township (CBS 2)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 13. Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, South Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau talk about need for convention center in wake of decision to demolish Star Plaza complex in Merillville (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 14. Westville motorcyclist struck and killed by minivan that ran a stop sign (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 15. Questions linger as East Chicago Housing Authority prepares to move 1,000 people out of West Calumet Housing Complex (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 16. Homeless man's body discovered in woods in Valparaiso (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 17. Work begins on new subdivision near Valparaiso elementary school (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 18. Construction of flood-relief project in Hobart could start after new 3rd Street bridge is completed (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 19. St. John to raise sewer rates 10 percent to buy larger portion of capacity at Schererville water-treatment plant (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 20. Portage police, fire station openings to have chain of handcuffs, fire hose in place of ribbons (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 21. Michigan City to take residents' input online about parks master plan (Northwest Indiana Times)
Monday:
NORTH:
· 22. Niles grandfather sues 13-year-old grandson over grandmother's death after she was struck by a vehicle she'd given grandson the keys to in order to shift the gear (CBS 2)
· 23. Former owner of Walgreens Charles R. Walgreen III dies at age 80 at his Lake Forest home (Chicago Tribune)
· 24. Gun-control advocates converge on downtown Glencoe, urging shop owners to put up 'no guns' stickers (Chicago Tribune/Northbrook Star)
NORTHWEST:
· 25. Mount Prospect's Jelly Café steps up to help after waitress' son has near-fatal brain hemorrhage (Daily Herald)
· 26. Proponents of charter school for at-risk kids in Elgin Area Unit School District U-46 revive proposal, with hopes of getting federal funds (Daily Herald)
· 27. Body of man found dead in burning vehicle in Chicago identified as Barrington Hills man, co-owner of Elgin-based Omega Demolition (WGN TV)
· 28. Electric fire at Union Station in Chicago forces cancellation of train on Milwaukee District West Line (FOX 32)
· 29. Arlington Heights Memorial Library board still discussing possibility of north branch, but no decision has yet been made (Daily Herald)
· 30. Elgin man sentenced to 87 days in jail, 30 months probation, $654 in fines for intentionally striking an acquaintence with his car (Daily Herald)
· 31. Des Plaines City Council considering $1,000 limit or complete ban on campaign contributions from companies that do business with the city (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 32. 793 people participate in Walk Against Alzheimer's at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village (Daily Herald)
· 33. Oak Brook man becomes second in U.S. to undergo aortic-valve replacement surgery (Daily Herald)
· 34. 15-year-old Lombard student dies after apparently choking on food in Villa Park high school cafeteria (CBS 2)
· 35. Chicago gang member with numerous weapons offenses charged with murder of Berwyn man following shooting near Millennium Park (NBC 5)
· 36. Bloomingdale woman pleads guilty to stealing more than $10,000 from school PTO's bank account to pay personal expenses (Chicago Tribune)
· 37. West Chicago City Council appoints new 6th Ward alderman (Daily Herald)
SOUTHWEST:
· 38. Woman killed, brother and daughter wounded in shooting along Washington Street in Joliet (Chicago Tribune)
· 39. Illinois State Museum's Lockport Gallery reopens as state funding starts to flow again (Chicago Tribune)
· 40. Montgomery teen held on weapons, traffic violations found hanging in LaSalle County Jail (Chicago Tribune/Aurora Beacon-News)
SOUTH:
· 41. Riverdale man charged with robbing Matteson bank on Friday, Sept. 23 (CBS 2)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 42. Man shot, wounded by Hammond police officer after allegedly pointing shotgun at police investigating report of shots fired in home (Chicago Tribune/Gary Post-Tribune)
· 43. Police: Speed a factor in car crash that claimed life of Michigan City man, injured passenger (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 44. More than half the $36,000 cost raised for bronze police-officer statue that will stand in front of Michigan City Police Station (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 45. Three Chicagoans and a woman from Pennsylvania charged in theft of laptop from Crown Point tattoo parlor (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 46. Lake County Council approves $161.6 million budget, which includes pay raises for elected officials and county employees (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 47. Burns Harbor man arrested after crashing van into liquor store and injuring store employee; four other people arrested at nearby motel where an underage-drinking party took place (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 48. Video helps police track down alleged drunk driver from Union Mills (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 49. Some suburban school districts are giving tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses to retired teachers and administrators, despite state law limiting such payments (Chicago Tribune)
· 50. Lake County member of Metra board of directors likely to replace current chairman when current term expires on Nov. 2 (Crain's Chicago Business)
Tuesday:
NORTH:
· 51. Northwestern University officials to review concerns over dorm proposal, other options (Chicago Tribune/Evanston Review)
· 52. Blue Island man found dead in field near strip mall along Golf Road in Niles (Chicago Tribune/Niles Herald-Spectator)
· 53. Evanston Post Office renamed for former Congressman, judge Abner J. Mikva (Chicago Tribune/Evanston Review)
· 54. Experts discuss living near coyotes (Chicago Tribune/Lake Forester)
· 55. Libertyville reviewing proposal for large new subdivision on University of St. Mary of the Lake property (Daily Herald)
· 56. Skokie man gets 2 years probation, must register as a sex offender for 10 years for sexually abusing teenage girl he called his 'girlfriend' (Daily Herald)
NORTHWEST:
· 57. Early-morning truck fire causes major delays on Tri-State Tollway near Dundee Road in Northbrook (ABC 7)
· 58. Parents in Elgin Area Unit School District U-46 cheer and jeer school board over transgender locker-room policy (Daily Herald)
· 59. Hanover Park man sentenced to four years in prison for Streamwood burglary (Daily Herald)
· 60. Some Hoffman Estates schools locked down after report of armed person at large following intentional car crash on Kent Road (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 61. Bodies of deceased veterans that go unclaimed being left in Hines V.A. Hospital morgue for months, according to a whistleblower (CBS 2)
· 62. Woman dies of injuries one day after car crash in Maywood (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 63. Suspect in three bank robberies in DuPage County apprehended following Warrenville heist on Monday (Daily Herald)
· 64. Warrenville, DuPage County officials hail completion of flood-control projects (Daily Herald)
SOUTHWEST:
· 65. Operator of Homer Glen tobacco shop charged with defrauding Illinois of more than $400,000 in sales taxes (Chicago Sun-Times)
SOUTH:
· 66. Lansing man killed in shooting on Chicago's South Side (Northwest Indiana Times)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 67. Two of three suspects arrested in Michigan City in theft of box trucks and tires (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 68. Bunker Hill man facing charges after striking two pedestrians in Hammond (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 69. Merrillville man sentenced to five years in prison as part of plea deal for breaking into Indiana University Northwest building in Gary (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 70. 16 houses, five apartment buildings to be torn down to make way for stormwater detention pond in Hammond (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 71. United Foundation of LaPorte County deeds Unity Park to City of LaPorte (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 72. Hobart's Southlake Mall to be home to Porkchop restaurant, La Senza lingerie store, Jimmy Jazz streetwear retailer (Northwest Indiana Times)
Wednesday:
NORTH:
· 73. Warrant issued for arrest of man who shot Mundelein resident to death in downstate Champaign (WGN TV)
· 74. Knife-wielding man robs business in Norridge after hitting two Chicago stores (CBS 2)
· 75. Eight schools in Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Green Oaks, Lincolnshire, Long Grove awarded National Blue Ribbon status (Daily Herald)
NORTHWEST:
· 76. Village of Mount Prospect, chamber of commerce, library, Downtown Merchants Association receive bronze star for entrepreneurs initiative (Daily Herald)
· 77. Palatine man who pleaded guilty to fourth DUI sentenced to four years in prison following June 13 crash (Daily Herald)
· 78. Schaumburg Village Board approves purchase of office buildings to make way for new entertainment district (Daily Herald)
· 79. Woman charged with unlawfully buying and selling guns, some of which ended up in hands of Chicago gang members, for profit (CBS 2)
· 80. Three Barrington elementary schools recognized with National Blue Ribbon School awards (Daily Herald)
· 81. 12-year-old persuades West Dundee officials to consider preserving historic pump house (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 82. Man robs U.S. Bank branch in Wood Dale (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 83. Kane County Forest Preserve Board expects to end tax-levy freeze in 2017, as revenues decline (Daily Herald)
· 84. Warrenville-based Two Brothers Brewing opens The Craftsman, a three-floor bakery/café/juice badeli/market/restaurant, with cocktail bar coming soon in Naperville (Chicago Tribune)
· 85. Elk Grove Village, public-works union sign off on 5-year contract, which includes raises from 2 to 2.5 percent (Daily Herald)
· 86. Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle named National Blue Ribbon School for third time in its history (Daily Herald)
· 87. Attorneys say police unlawfully searched cell phone of Naperville graffiti artist known for 'Simpsons' art (Daily Herald)
SOUTHWEST:
· 88. Skokie man charged with armed robbery of Plainfield Target store on Aug. 28 (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 89. Oswego-based Community School District 308 to repay $1.5 million in state aid because daily attendance figures were off by 243 students (Chicago Tribune/Aurora Beacon-News)
SOUTH:
· 90. Fire destroys abandoned Harvey house (ABC 7)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 91. Parent company of Horseshoe Casino in Hammond reaches deal to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 92. Konrady Plastics to hire 14 new workers following expansion that will nearly double its Portage factory (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 93. Merrillville police officer strikes pedestrian with vehicle while on patrol (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 94. Ex-Lake Station mayor sentenced to four years in prison, repay $26,755 for using campaign, food-pantry funds to gamble; wife sentenced to two years in prison (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 95. Merrillville surgeon facing charge of battery for striking an assistant with medical instruments at Hobart hospital (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 96. Portage man accused of beating woman collecting boyfriend's $500 debt (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 97. Man seriously wounded in East Chicago shooting (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 98. Cook County Health Department reports three deaths from West Nile virus, only such deaths in Illinois so far during 2016 (FOX 32)
· 99. Rusty patch bumblebee may be placed on endangered-species list (CBS 2)
Thursday:
NORTH:
· 100. Mundelein woman pleads guilty to sexually assaulting music student at Webster Middle School in Waukegan, sentenced to 14 years in prison (Daily Herald)
· 101. Mundelein High School District 120 ends block scheduling; new bell schedule to begin with 2017-18 school year (Daily Herald)
· 102. Chicago man sentenced to five years in jail for 2015 stabbing inside Skokie bar (Chicago Tribune/Skokie Review)
· 103. Family, supporters of Housing Opportunity Development Corp. president who died in 2013 for opening of afforable-housing complex in Glenview (Chicago Tribune/Glenview Announcements)
· 104. Employees of Riverwoods-based Discovery Financial Services and KaBOOM! build playgrounds in Park City, Zion (Daily Herald)
· 105. Evanston woman charged with felony disorderly conduct for sending profanity-laced letter with 'granular substance' in envelope to Illinois Tollway Authority (NBC 5)
NORTHWEST:
· 106. Bartlett village president to seek re-election to second term (Daily Herald)
· 107. Woman's body found at Bensenville golf course; authorities believe she was killed near Melrose Park (Chicago Tribune)
· 108. Ford donates $10,000 to Hoffman Estates-based GiGi's Playhouse on The Steve Harvey Show (Daily Herald)
· 109. D'licious Crepes and Roti in Bartlett gets liquor license (Daily Herald)
· 110. Video causes stir in controversial plan to close Palatine's oldest elementary school and build two new buildings (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 111. Jury deems 63-year-old Hillside man 'sexually violent' (CBS 2)
· 112. Illinois auditor general releases College of DuPage audit, recommends 19 ideas to improve oversight, operations and transparency (Chicago Tribune/Naperville Sun)
· 113. Addison man sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing child porn (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 114. Former Calamos Investments employee sues Naperville-based asset manager, claiming he was fired for telling top execs about 'imminent risks' to the company (Crain's Chicago Business)
SOUTHWEST:
· 115. Supporters, opponents of Donald Trump clash outside GOP presidential candidate's fundraiser in Bolingbrook (Chicago Tribune)
SOUTH:
· 116. Lincoln-Way High School District 210 teachers-union president calls for hiring of full-time compliance officer (Chicago Tribune/Daily Southtown)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 117. Munster-based startup Sonam Technologies creates device that assesses concussion risk on playgrounds, athletic fields (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 118. Chicago man pleads guilty to armed robbery of St. John store (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 119. Indiana Congressman introduces legislation to turn Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore into national park (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 120. Guns taken during burglary at Griffith sporting-goods store (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 121. Crown Point teen walking around in clown mask apparently spooks neighbors, who call police (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 122. Portage begins $2.1 million in paving projects (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 123. RNC rolls out Gigabit Internet service in Chicago area (Chicago Sun-Times)
Friday:
NORTH:
· 124. Cook County State's Attorney's Office drops perjury case against four police officers, including one Glenview cop, after attorney alleges charges were under out-of-date law (Chicago Tribune)
· 125. Lake County judge removes former Woodland Elementary School District 50 board member from lawsuit over her husband's company getting contract for athletic uniforms, school-spirit wear (Daily Herald)
· 126. Man sought for shooting death of Mundelein man in Champaign turns himself in to police (Daily Herald)
· 127. Judge lets guilty verdict stand against worker from Lincolnshire daycare center in death of Deerfield toddler (Chicago Tribune)
· 128. Fox Lake man charged with burglary, theft, electronic telephone harassment after threatening to kill a police officer (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
· 129. Winnekta man indicted on commodities, wire fraud charges for having falsely inflated value of options, costing now-defunct Rock Capital Markets $13 million (Chicago Tribune)
· 130. Waukegan man charged with sending inappropriate text to teenage girl while working as bus aid for Illinois Central Bus Company (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 131. Emmons Elementary School District 33, Grass Lake Elementary School District 36 to explore consolidation of one-school districts in Antioch area (Daily Herald)
· 132. New York-based Mrs. Green's Neighborhood Market to close Winnekta location on Oct. 16 (Crain's Chicago Business)
· 133. Bennison's Bakery in Evanston tracking sales of U.S. presidential candidate-inspired sweets (CBS 2)
NORTHWEST:
· 134. Fox River Grove resident Richard Trentlage, who wrote the classic Oscar Mayer jingle, passes away at 87 (ABC 7)
· 135. Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney sworn in as state Senator for Illinois' 27th District (Daily Herald)
· 136. Boston Fish Market looking at possible location in Wheeling (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 137. Joliet man sentenced to 25 years in prison for 2014 murder during drug deal in Aurora (CBS2)
· 138. Naperville golf club remembers course designer and golf legend Arnold Palmer, who passed away this week at 87 (Chicago Tribune/Naperville Sun)
· 139. Elderly woman killed in car crash as she exited Countryside bowling alley's parking lot onto Joliet Road (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 140. Two people in custody in stabbing death of Melrose Park woman whose body was found at Bensenville golf course (Chicago Tribune)
· 141. Ex-Aurora priest pleads not guilty to charges he sexually abused two children over three years (Chicago Tribune/Aurora Beacon-News)
· 142. Downtown Wheaton Association to have Witches of Wheaton event on Thursday, Oct. 15, with drinks and promotions for women (Daily Herald)
· 143. National Research Center to mail citizen surveys to 3,000 randomly selected Lombard residents during mid-October (Daily Herald)
SOUTH:
· 144. Teen from Calumet City/Lansing area shot to death on first day of school in Chicago (Chicago Tribune/Daily Southtown)
· 145. Surveillance camera catches man trying to abduct woman in Harvey (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 146. Judge issues guilty verdict in 5-year-old DUI/reckless-homicide case involving an accident that killed a man and maimed his wife in Matteson (ABC 7)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 147. Portage Board of Works declares emergency to expedite walkway repairs along Burns Waterway (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 148. Crown Point working to eliminate triple-billing for hydrants in Prairie View subdivision (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 149. Two men sought in armed robbery of East Chicago Dollar General (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 150. Police classify Hobart man's train death in Lake Station as suicide (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 151. U.S. EPA scheduled to begin East Chicago lead cleanup on Sunday (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 152. Positive-train control still a challenge for Metra (CBS 2)
· 153. Legal Roundup: Naperville teen charged with forgery for sending out phony Illinois Tollway violation notices (Daily Herald)
Saturday:
NORTH:
· 154. Fremd High School football players help wheelchair-bound coach/Navy veteran stand for national anthem at Friday night's game (NBC 5)
NORTHWEST:
· 155. Man found guilty but mentally ill in brutal beating and murder of Island Lake woman in 2014 (Chicago Tribune)
· 156. Elk Grove Village woman charged driving in violation of a restriction, improper passing of a vehicle dropped at a crosswalk in June 10 crash that killed bicyclist in Mount Prospect (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 157. Students with Down syndrome crowned Homecoming king and queen at Barrington High School (NBC 5)
· 158. Randall Oaks Zoo in West Dundee celebrating autumn through Oct. 30 (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 159. Boyfriend charged in stabbing death of woman whose body was found at Bensenville golf course (CBS 2)
SOUTH:
· 160. Huffing chemicals may be responsible for Blue Island man's death near Niles strip mall (Chicago Tribune/Daily Southtown)
· 161. Sunnybrook Elementary School District 171 reports zero detentions, suspensions since beginning of school year (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 162. Toxic heroin additive found in Will County (Chicago Tribune/Naperville Sun)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 163. Valparaiso man killed while working at Gary Works steel mill (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 164. Tri-Creek School Corp. board makes moves on bond issues to save $1.8 million (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 165. City of Portage transfers former Crisman school property to Redevelopment Commission in hopes of selling, redeveloping it (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 166. NIPSCO offers no explanation for power outage affecting 931 Munster customers on Friday (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 167. Porter County implements stormwater fees to help fund improvements to reduce flooding, drainage concerns (Northwest Indiana Times)