Bally’s temporary Chicago casino expected to open in September
The temporary location will be at the Medinah Temple while a $1.74bn permanent facility is slated to open in 2026.
Bally’s Chicago temporary casino at Medinah Temple is slated to open in September.
The company revealed this during its second-quarter earnings call this week.
In June, the Illinois Gaming Board granted preliminary approval to Bally’s and the company immediately began installing more than 750 slots machines and 50 table games at Medinah Temple.
Back then, executives had said they expected to have roughly 1,000 gaming positions in place by the end of the month.
Bally’s won a competition last year to build a $1.74bn casino at the site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant in River West. Bally’s bought the site for $200m. It plans to open a permanent casino in 2026.
The Medinah Temple was built by the Shriners in 1912. It will serve as a temporary casino for up to three years. Bally’s has been renovating the building since January.
The start date for the temporary casino has been moving all year. It was pushed back from June to July to August to September. While it’s not open, Bally’s and the city of Chicago are losing money.
The casino is projected to generate $805.6m in annual adjusted gross receipts by 2028.
In a second-quarter earnings call this week, Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves said, “Bally’s made significant strides this quarter, announcing new initiatives, achieving important project milestones, and building on our strong foundation for 2023 and beyond.
“Our core casinos & resorts segment produced record second-quarter revenues of $333.2m, an 11.1% increase compared to the second quarter of 2022.
“International Interactive also remained solid, with revenues increasing 5.6% year-over-year, led by our robust UK business, which grew revenues by 11.5% year-over-year.”
During the call, Bally’s reported on its agreement with the Oakland A’s. Bally’s will partner with the team to build a new baseball stadium at the location of the Tropicana Las Vegas on the south end of the Strip. The stadium will seat between 30,000 and 35,000 fans.
Reeves said, “Our core Casinos & Resorts customer base remains resilient. While we are keeping a close eye on spending trends and the health of the consumer generally, we are pleased with how our overall portfolio is performing, with significant year-over-year revenue growth and margin expansion.
“We are looking forward to the opening of our Chicago Temporary Casino in September and the unveiling of our property redevelopment in Kansas City as well.”
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