Bally’s Quad City Casino & Hotel has received approval from the Rock Island, IL city council for a development to improve its facility. A previous development agreement between Rock Island and Bally’s was set to expire this year, but Bally’s was able to turn the former Jumer's Casino’s luck around.
An in-person sports betting lounge and renovated hotel rooms will be added to the premises since Bally’s has gained ownership. A new casino will also make its way to Rockford, Illinois, which made Bally’s legal counsel, Mark Schwiebert, say that the casino needs to “stand out with a new sportsbook and lounge.”
Schwiebert said, “[The lounge gives] us something the other gaming operations in the Quad Cities don’t have. We’ll be adding an additional 80 jobs over that period of time.”
Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms said the agreement will help by not only creating jobs, but by generating tax revenue for the city, which was “hit hard” by the pandemic’s effect on the gaming industry in the area. Scholarships will also be given to Rock Island high school.
Thoms said, “All the way around, it’s really a win-win situation. The two casinos on the Iowa side, took market share away because the people wanted someplace to go. We’re now back up and operating here.”
Over the next five years, Rock Island will contribute $4.7m to the casino, but Thoms reports that this will not come from taxpayers.
Thoms continued, “There’s no new tax having to be paid for this development. It is the current taxes that are being paid here that are rebated back to them.”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new sportsbook is expected in late June or early July.
