Renderings of Bally’s permanent Chicago casino offer early looks at the poker room and gaming floor that could welcome gamblers next year.
Interior renderings of the future River West casino, first spotted Monday by the real estate news site Chicago YIMBY, were tucked into Bally’s application over the summer to open another house of chance in New York City.
Besides the 3,400-slot casino and 500-room hotel, the $1.7 billion Chicago complex is slated to include a rooftop pool and bar and restaurants, plus a 3,000-seat theater and a public park with a riverwalk extension.
Bally’s had previously shared its proposed images of a 36-story hotel tower and adjacent casino. The latest images preview its expansive floor of slot machines and table games, plus dedicated poker and baccarat rooms.
A crane went up last month over the construction site at the former Tribune printing press site near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street. State law requires Bally’s to start taking bets at the permanent site by next September.
Gambling regulators halted the project for two weeks earlier this year after the Sun-Times revealed a reputed mob-connected garbage company was working at the site. The Illinois Gaming Board hasn’t tipped its hand on potential discipline as its investigation continues.
Bally’s has been operating a temporary casino for over two years inside the historic Medinah Temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave., but early returns have been disappointing for government coffers.
The Rhode Island-based company has generated about $270 million in adjusted revenue since September 2023, translating to $41 million in state tax revenue and $33.6 million for the city of Chicago’s desperately underfunded police and firefighter pensions.
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who selected Bally’s for the casino license in 2022, had banked on the temporary casino churning out $34 million for the city in its first full calendar year of operation alone.
The company reported $8.4 million in revenue from Medinah Temple last month, a 13% drop compared to its monthly haul from November 2024, according to gaming board records.
While Bally’s had to scramble to finance construction at the permanent Chicago site, the company is expected to land another highly coveted license later this month from New York gambling regulators to build a casino next to a Bronx golf course previously owned by President Donald Trump.
Their land deal calls for Bally’s to pay $115 million to the Trump Organization once the New York gambling license is issued, Forbes reported.
