Bally’s could stay longer at temporary location in Chicago

The casino may remain in River North beyond 2026.

Last month, Bally’s temporary casino location held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Medinah Temple in River North, opening as Chicago’s first legal casino. 

Now, Bally’s casino could remain open in its temporary location beyond 2026 because of a bill sponsored by state Senator Bill Cunningham, which is due to be taken up by the Illinois House this week during the General Assembly veto session. 

The bill was originally passed by the Illinois Senate on October 24 to amend a state gambling law which currently limits new casinos to 24 months of operation at a temporary location, while a permanent site is built. 

Those in charge of the casino have said that they are currently on schedule to move out of the Medinah Temple within three years, with the permanent facility being constructed in River West. 

Bally’s bought the Chiago Tribune printing facility as the location for their new casino, but under the deal, it will be unable to make any progress on the development of the site until July 2024, which gives the company just over two years to complete the 505,000-sqaure-foot casino and hotel tower. 

Bally’s Chicago General Manager, Mark Wong, commented on the situation: “We’re all very confident that we’ll meet the timeline. However, it is a huge project. It’ll probably take every bit of two, two and-a-half years that will be required to build.” 

The current casino lease at the Medinah Temple is due to last until December 2026, with the option of being able to extend it until early 2029. 

Ciaran McLoughlin

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