State officials have given the green light for a temporary casino location, bringing the Bally’s Chicago mega-casino one step closer to opening.
The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has granted supplier licenses to groups associated with the historic Medinah Temple in Chicago. The first license was awarded to Medinah Building LLC, which manages the building, and the second license was given to Medinah Holdings LLC, responsible for the land where the building is situated.
Bally’s will temporarily be located at Medinah, 600 Wabash Ave., for two to three years while their permanent location is being constructed on the site of the former Chicago Tribune printing press, with an estimated cost of $1.7 billion.
What to expect from Bally’s temporary casino
Bally’s and city officials are hopeful that the Medinah Temple casino could open its doors to customers this summer, although Bally’s gaming license still awaits approval from the IGB.
Bally’s submitted its application in August 2022, and the IGB has up to one year to review it. It is also possible that the review period may be extended for a more comprehensive evaluation of the application.
If Bally’s is approved, Medinah Temple will provide a diverse range of gambling choices for patrons. The temporary casino, operating 24/7, will take up three floors and include 800 slot machines, 50 table games, as well as a bar and restaurant.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago predicts that the temporary casino has the potential to generate as much as $200 million in tax revenue each year.
The last minute temporary casino switch
At first, the temporary casino was slated to be located at the same spot as the permanent one: the intersection of Chicago Ave. and Halsted St. in River West. Nevertheless, officials raised worries about possible traffic jams on Chicago Ave. while the permanent site was being built.
Lightfoot’s recommendation for Bally’s to move to Medinah Temple was met with opposition from Ald. Brendan Reilly and River North residents.
This swap occurred within 24 hours of me clearly stating that it would not be accepted, making it a deceitful maneuver.
Reilly firmly believes that the addition of a casino in the city will result in a rise in crime and place additional stress on the already understaffed Chicago Police Department. He also predicts that the congestion caused by a casino at Medinah Temple will be unbearable. Reilly is doubtful of a traffic study conducted by Bally’s in October, which concluded that the casino would not have a major impact on traffic. He was very clear in his criticism of the study’s conclusions.
I believe that this study is severely lacking in clarity, overly vague, and seems to have been purposefully designed to support the success of a casino at Medinah Temple. After examining numerous traffic studies over time, I can confidently state that this particular study lacks depth and does not have the credibility of an unbiased analysis.
