Bally’s Chicago pop-up casino welcomes 83,000 guests and wins $7.6 million in first month
Bally's Chicago held its grand opening on September 9th at the prestigious Medinah Temple in the River North neighborhood.
In the first 24 days of September, the casino won more than $6.67 million in winnings and more than 80,000 visitors entered the temporary gaming facility, which features 800 slot machines and 56 live dealer tables. The 34,000-square-foot venue also features three full-service restaurants and two bars.
Of course, the hype died down in October, three weeks after the casino opened. Bally's Chicago generated just over $7.6 million in gross gaming revenue last month, according to the Illinois Gaming Control Board (IGCB). During its 31 days of operation, the casino welcomed 83,113 visitors or 2,681 guests per day.
The Medina Temple was never a mosque but opened in 1912 as a gorgeous auditorium with seating for approximately 4,200 people on three levels. In 2000, the space was demolished and converted into a retail complex. Bloomingdale's occupied the space until it vacated Medinah Temple during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary Bally's Chicago will be replaced by a permanent $1.7 billion integrated casino resort scheduled to open in the next few years.
Construction on the permanent resort, located at 777 W. Chicago Ave. in the River West Community Liberty Center, is expected to begin next summer and take two years. Tribune Publishing has moved into the 30-acre site but will relocate the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times printing operations by July 2024.
Promotions keep casinos busy
In October, Bally's Chicago won about $245,446 a day at its casinos. That's nearly 12 percent lower than the roughly $278,267 GGR generated per day in September, when opening excitement spurred interest in the Windy City's newest entertainment attraction.
During Bally's Corporation's third-quarter earnings call this month, Bally's Corp. President George Papanier said the company's "soft launch" of its pop-up casino in Chicago was a success. Papanier explained that the official opening of the casino took place on October 3 and that marketing and advertising efforts will soon increase revenue.
Bally's bosses say the company is on track to open its temporary casino on budget, despite a three-month delay due to Government approval. Papanier expects gaming revenue to increase through better incentives once casinos are open 24 hours a day. The casino is currently open daily from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
"We expect to begin 24-hour operations soon, pending regulatory approvals. In the meantime, we plan to implement our core marketing activities to increase the frequency of visits and thereby benefit from the rapidly growing database benefits," said Papanier .
"As we continue to build the property, we remain confident in achieving our financial expectations of exceeding $50 million in annual adjusted EBITDAR," he added.
City Tax Incentives
Illinois lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker (D) expanded gambling in 2019 by approving the opening of an integrated resort casino in downtown Chicago and five smaller casinos in Chicago's suburbs. The goal of the law is to generate new state and city tax revenue that would be used to close a critical funding gap in the city's police and fire pension plans.
In its first 55 days in business, Bally's Chicago generated nearly $3.3 million in state and local tax revenue. Chicago's share was nearly $1.5 million.
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Source: www.casino.org
