Bally’s Temporary Casino in Chicago Attracts 1.3 Million Visitors in First Year of Operation
In September 2023, Bally’s launched a temporary casino in Chicago. Now, twelve months later, this gambling venue is summing up the results of its work.
It is known that 1.3 million people visited the facility in its first year. Adjusted gross receipts for this period exceeded $114 million, placing Bally’s casino in the top four in Illinois. In terms of taxes, Chicago received about $12.9 million from the facility over the course of the year.
George Papanier, president of Bally’s Corporation, commented on the results of the casino. He said that since opening, they strived to meet the commitments they had made to the city of Chicago and were proud of how far they had come in just one year.
Bally’s temporary casino is located in the historic Medinah Temple building, known for its unique Moorish-style architecture. Before moving, the facility underwent a $50 million renovation. The casino floor occupies 130,000 square feet and offers visitors 754 slot machines and 56 table games.
Bally’s Chicago is operating under a three-year temporary license while construction continues on a permanent casino. It will be built on the site of the former Chicago Tribune publishing plant. According to the $1.7 billion project, Chicago expects the opening of the largest gambling venue in the state with 4,000 slot machines. The resort will also include a hotel, several restaurants and a theater. The opening is scheduled for 2026.
In August, Bally’s temporary casino hosted almost 125,000 people and received more than $10.7 million in adjusted gross receipts. However, it is still lagging behind the growth rate of Illinois’ most profitable property, Rivers Casino Des Plaines. Over the past year, the latter earned almost $520 million.
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