Bally’s Chicago Casino, Still in the Books Despite Mayor Comments

Summary:

• Bally’s vision to build a casino in Chicago is still going strong, despite Mayor Brandon Johnson’s recent comments.
• The $1.7 billion casino would be built on the River West property.
• A potential opening date was set for September 2026.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Bally’s spoke to NBC Chicago about their plans for the much-anticipated permanent casino in Chicago valued at $1.7 billion.

On July 5, the leading entertainment company is getting ready to take ownership of the River West property where the casino will be built.

A possible grand opening date has been announced for September 2026.

Johnson’s “Still to be Determined” Comment, Not Affecting Bally’s Plan

The plan for the River West casino has not been influenced by the comments made by Mayor Brandon Johnson earlier in the week during an interview.

When asked what his thoughts were about the permanent casino being ultimately built, the Mayor replied it was “still to be determined“.

Alderman Brendan Reilly, who has been a member of the Chicago City Council since 2007, said he did not believe the Mayor was not “on board” with the new casino, but that his answer was rather a matter of getting

caught up at that editorial board on some questions that he couldn’t actually answer.

Can Bally’s Afford the New Casino?

Reilly added that the “bigger issue” could be establishing if the corporation can truly afford to develop the site or not.

Mentioning Wall Street rumors and information, Reilly said Bally’s was likely “short hundreds of millions of dollars in cash” from delivering the casino.

Last September, Bally’s opened a temporary casino in River North inside the Medinah Temple building.

According to financial results for May, the temporary Illinois casino. recorded the most successful month since its opening, with $13.8 million in revenue and over 118,000 people in admissions.

Johnson’s office commented on Bally’s success in reaching “its highest revenue numbers so far” while saying they will keep their commitment to the permanent casino project.

The public meeting on the topic of the casino site’s demolition will take place on June 14 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Jesse White Community Center.