Bally's pop-up Chicago casino to open in early September
Bally's long-awaited Chicago pop-up casino will likely debut shortly after the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 4.
Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) officials will inspect Medinah Temple, the site of the temporary casino, on September 5. The next two days will include practice games that are closed to the public. If all goes well, the venue will open on Saturday, September 9.
Practice sessions are more than just a formality and operators should not take them lightly. However, newer gambling establishments in Illinois were allowed to begin operating shortly after regulators' visit. These include The Golden Nugget in Danville and Full House Resorts’ The Temporary in Waukegan.
If Bally's temporary casino opens in early to mid-September, it would be a slight delay from when the casino was previously expected to open this month. Bally recently updated this forecast, stating that September is more likely.
Bally's Moves On in Chicago
The Medina Temple property will remain in use until a permanent site is built. The temple is located at 600 N. Wabash Ave. It has been used many times since it was built 111 years ago, but has been vacant since 2020.
The Medina Temple venue marks the launch of the operator's $1.7 billion permanent integrated resort in Chicago. The casino-hotel, the first of its kind in the city and Bally's most expensive project to date, is scheduled to open in 2026.
The permanent site will be at the Liberty Center, a 30-acre riverfront property occupied by Tribune Publishing. If the cash payment is made, Tribune Publishing would vacate the building in July 2024 to allow Bally's to begin construction later next year.
Rhode Island-based Bally's recently told analysts and investors it expected the temporary casino to generate profits of $3.5 million to $5 million per month, or as much as $60 million per year. Medinah Temple Casino could create up to 700 jobs.
For Bally's, City the sooner the better
The sooner Bally's starts gaming operations at Medinah Temple, the better for the company and the city of Chicago. Not only will revenue and profits from the temporary casino help the operator, but the venue will also serve as a platform for Bally's to build a customer database in the Chicago area and market directly to those potential customers.
For Illinois and Illinois, the sooner temporary and permanent casinos can open and generate revenue, the sooner these venues can receive much-needed tax revenue. These venues are considered critical to securing Chicago's excessive pension obligations for firefighters and police officers.
The temporary casino is expected to bring $55 million in annual revenue to Chicago. By comparison, Bally's permanent venue is expected to generate $200 million in annual revenue for the city, according to the Chicago Sun-Times .
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Source: www.casino.org
