Chicago chooses Bally's to run $1.7 billion casino
Casino Bally's
After receiving multiple bids, Bally's Chicago was ultimately selected as the winning bidder. Hard Rock and Rush Street Gaming were among the other finalists; earlier, Bally's and Rush Street's applications that concentrated on different sites were rejected.
In its bid, Bally's detailed its plans to pay the city $40 million upfront and $4 million each year after that. The resort's construction will employ 3,000 people in the short term, and another 3,000 people permanently once it's up for business.
At the crossroads of Chicago Avenue and Halstead Street, on the 30-acre Chicago Tribune Publishing Centre, you'll find the casino.
A matched financing strategy will enable local communities of investors to hold a piece in Bally's Chicago, with 25% of the equity earmarked for this purpose as part of Bally's Community Investment Programme.
Chairman of the board of directors of Bally's Corporation, Soo Kim, expressed gratitude to Mayor Lightfoot and her office for the competitive RFP process that led to the selection of Bally's Chicago as the preferred bidder for the city's casino. Our goal is to make sure that Bally's Chicago is run by and for the people of Chicago.
"Chicago is a one-of-a-kind and exciting metropolis that deserves a top-tier gaming and entertainment complex that boosts the economy, employs locals, rewards minority investors for generations to come, and highlights the city's finest qualities.
"We are extremely excited about the prospect of continuing our fruitful collaboration with the Chicago Federation of Labour, the Illinois Gaming Board, the city council, and other city departments on this monumental undertaking."
This comes on the heels of Bally's announcement that it had turned down a buyout bid from Standard General, an investment fund run by Kim that holds 20% of the operator's shares.
Thanks largely to the acquisition of UK online operator Gamesys, which concluded last year, Bally's reported $548.2m in sales for the first quarter of 2022, nearly tripling the amount recorded in Q1 of 2021. The announcement was made today.
