SPRINGFIELD -- The grandfather of Illinois' riverboat gambling industry decided Thursday to cash in his chips and call it a career in the state Senate.

"As the song goes, 'You got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, and it is my time to fold 'em," Sen. Denny Jacobs (D-East Moline) said in a letter announcing his retirement after a long stay in the General Assembly.

Blunt-speaking and colorful, the chain-smoking legislator has been Senate President Emil Jones' point person on recent gambling expansion proposals, and Jones said Jacobs' absence will be felt.

"I'll miss him," the Chicago Democrat said.

Because Jacobs is retiring mid-term -- his resignation is effective Monday -- Democratic officials in his northwestern Illinois district will choose a successor.

One possible replacement is his son, Mike, 44, who is a Downstate liaison for Secretary of State Jesse White and who the elder Jacobs brought onto the Senate floor to meet colleagues recently.

The retiring senator said he is stepping away from politics with "mixed emotions."

"Little does the electorate know of the time restraints that are placed on a legislator's time," Jacobs said.

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