Bally’s Chicago generated a record $11.7 million in adjusted gross receipts in May, a 13 percent increase over April, according to Illinois Gaming Board data.
The casino also set a record in admissions, up 5 percent in May to 119,000 visitors, second to Rivers Casino Des Plaines. The temporary casino opened last September at the historic Medinah Temple.
Bally’s Chicago Vice President and General Manager Mark Wong said growing membership in the casino’s loyalty program led to the record-setting revenue “as we grow closer to breaking ground on our permanent location” at the soon-to-be demolished Freedom Center printing plant site in River West.
Officials said they expect to break ground on the $1.7 billion permanent Chicago casino July 5 and open the casino complex in September 2026. Amenities will include a casino with 4,000 gaming positions, a 500-room hotel, exhibition hall, 3,000-seat theater and 10 restaurants.
From January through May 2024, Bally’s Chicago generated $52.4 million in adjusted gross receipts and more than $5.5 million in local tax revenue. But the numbers still fall short, as city officials projected Bally’s would produce $243 million in adjusted gross receipts and $35 million in local gaming taxes this year.
Bally’s currently is dealing with two challenging issues: an $800 million construction gap, plus a buyout offer from its largest shareholder Standard General, a hedge fund run by Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim.
Mayor Brandon Johnson cast some doubt on the project when he told the Chicago Sun-Times, “I liken it, frankly, to the airlines deal that was negotiated two administrations ago. There were some challenges in there. I wish I could say something definitive today. I know our team is working with ownership to figure it out like we figured out some of the other things that I’ve inherited. It just has to make absolute sense. I think that one’s still to be determined, to be perfectly frank with you.”
The mayor’s office later downplayed Johnson’s comments, issuing a statement noting, “The city is pleased that Bally’s has reached its highest revenue numbers so far, and continues to be committed to the permanent casino project.”
The new casino would be built in Alderman Walter Burnett’s 27th Ward.
According to ABC Chicago, he said, “This casino is going to be built, and there’s going to be money to be made for everyone. So I will say this, ‘I’m betting on Bally’s, y ‘all.’ This is something that we need. It’s not that’s not just what we want. This is what the city needs. So, no way in the world that the mayor is going to stop that.”
Bally’s still has not determined where it will place a huge hotel tower on the River West site. Earlier this year engineers discovered the hotel’s location in the original plan would damage city water pipes.
The Freedom Center, the largest newspaper printing plant in the U.S., operated for 43 years. Production already moved to the former Daily Herald facility in Schaumburg, which Tribune Publishing purchased last year for an undisclosed price.
The Chicago Tribune newsroom also left the Freedom Center on May 31 and plans to move into a 3,700-square-foot space in the historic Brooks Building at 223 W. Jackson Blvd. in the Loop by July 1. A final liquidation auction was held at the Freedom Center to sell printing equipment, dump trucks, forklifts, historical newspaper and press plates and more.
