Bally’s Corporation, developer of a $1.7 billion Chicago casino resort, recently signed a multi-project labor agreement with the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council and the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department.
Located at Chicago Avenue and Halstead Street on the 30-acre Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, the project will offer a gaming floor with 3,400 slots and 170 table games, plus a 500-room hotel tower with a rooftop bar and 10 food and beverage venues. A 65,000-square-foot entertainment center and a 20,000-square-foot outdoor music venue also will be featured. Bally’s is in the process of setting up a temporary casino while the permanent casino resort is being built.
Michael Macellaio, president of the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council, said, “BCTC is proud to stand with Bally’s Chicago in this historic building of the first and only casino in the city of Chicago. With this agreement, Bally’s shows that it understands the importance of good-paying jobs in our city and the dignity of our hard-working people.”
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim noted, “At Bally’s, we believe our company should reflect the community. This PLA is a demonstration of our commitment to embrace organized labor that has played a key role in building the great city of Chicago. This is the first step of a project that will be built by Chicago, for Chicago and help the city keep its promises to the police and fire pensions. We are also committed to inclusivity, and our partnerships with the CCBT, Chicago Federation of Labor and Hire360 will ensure our workforce will reflect the city’s rich diversity.”
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, stated, “We appreciate that Bally’s holds itself to a higher standard when it comes to employment. Our mission is to strengthen the participation of underrepresented populations, with a special focus on engaging youth to consider the trades as a viable and inspiring career path, and Bally’s has proven to take that very seriously.”
Bally’s owns and manages 15 casinos across 10 states, a horse racetrack in Colorado and has access to off-site betting licenses in 18 states. The company also owns the online casino operator Bally’s Interactive International, formerly Gamesys Group.
Bally’s has 10,500 employees and its properties include 15,000 slot machines, 500 table games and 5,300 hotel rooms. When the temporary Chicago casino and a land-based casino in State College, Pennsylvania are completed, Bally’s will own and manage 17 casinos across 11 states.
