In a 4-0 vote, the Illinois Gaming Board recently approved a finding of “preliminary suitability” for Bally’s to open a temporary casino at the historic Medinah Temple this summer, while building its permanent $1.7 billion venue at the Chicago Tribune printing plant site, set to open by 2026.
Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter called the vote “a very significant and important step” but noted that it “is not the final act in this opera.” That will happen when Bally’s meets regulatory guidelines and slots and table games pass a test run, among other steps.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said, “We asked the city and the community to bet on Bally’s, and like every good casino, we pay off winning bets. We want to move as quickly as we can. This facility and the permanent will be our flagship, but also I think will be the flagship of Illinois gaming.”
Kim noted that the temporary casino’s layout is “pretty much done,” meaning it could open in late July or early August, or at least by the end of the summer “upon the approval of the IGB gaming license,” according to a spokesman.
Bally’s has received more than 11,000 applications for the 700 positions available at Medinah. Bally’s Chief Legal Officer Kim Barker Lee noted the permanent casino in River West is expected to create 3,000 jobs for a workforce including 60 percent people of color, 45 percent women, 5 percent military veterans and 5 percent people with disabilities.
Alderman Brendan Reilly, whose 42nd District includes the casino, said the selection of Medinah was an 11th-hour “switcheroo.” He said crime and traffic will increase when the casino opens. Per the Sun-Times, Kim said Bally’s has invited opponents of the casino to “come by Medinah and judge for yourself. I think you’ll like it.” He stated Bally’s has had “a good dialogue” with new Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office.
Interior demolition began in January at the 111-year-old reddish-brown brick Medinah, with its trademark copper onion-shaped domes and stained-glass windows, the former longtime home of the Shrine Circus and more recently Bloomingdale’s Home Store.
Per the Sun-Times, Mark Wong, vice president and general manager of Bally’s Chicago Casino, said, “Anyone can build a temporary casino, but not everyone gets a chance to build a temporary casino in a beautiful, historic building such as this.”
Wong said a massive bar at the entrance will offer “a great sense of arrival” for guests. Most of Medinah’s 750 slot machines and 50 table games will be located on the first floor, along with a café, Wong said. A high-limit area will be built on the third floor, plus two restaurants and a striking view of the Medinah rotunda with its ornate ceiling and proscenium arch surrounding the stage.
Christopher Jewett, Bally’s director of corporate development, told the Sun-Times, “It’s not going to be your bright, flashy casino. It’s going to keep the historic aspects in place.”
Sources said former Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed for Medinah, owned by Friedman Properties, which was the landlord for the offices of Lightfoot’s campaign fund, the Sun-Times reported. Lightfoot’s office said it had “no involvement” in the Medinah site selection but approved Bally’s traffic and public safety plans for the location.
Bally’s also gave the city an upfront payment of $40 million after receiving city council approval. City budget officials project the casino will eventually generate $200 million annually into pension funds, which have an estimated unfunded liability of $33 billion.
Bally’s officials said the permanent facility will offer a gaming floor with 3,400 slots and 170 table games, plus a 500-room hotel, 10 bars, restaurants, 3,000-seat entertainment center, a new park along the Chicago River and a water taxi stop.
As a result of a gambling expansion bill signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2019, new casinos are planned in Rockford, Waukegan and Danville, in downstate Williamson County and on the border of south suburban Homewood and East Hazel Crest.
Bally’s owns an Illinois casino in Rock Island plus 14 others nationwide.
