Bally’s executives said Thursday they hope to have their $1.7 billion casino and entertainment complex in River West “substantially completed” by the end of this year and do not anticipate needing all of a proposed yearlong extension now pending in Springfield.
The bill that State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) introduced last week at Bally’s behest would extend the casino giant’s license to operate its temporary casino at Medinah Temple until September 2027.
That would give Bally’s up to another year to complete and open the mega-project, which is now 13.8% complete.
But the Bally’s team assured City Council members on Thursday the mega-casino that Chicago mayors have coveted for decades is “on track to speed through completion,” and they have no intention of needing or using the entire one-year extension.
“We’re still targeting to try and get to substantial completion by the end of this year,” Chris Jewett, Bally's chief development officer, told a City Council committee during an annual hearing on casino compliance reporting.
“There’s always unknowns. There’s challenges with permits," Jewett said. "We’re going to be highly dependent on one of our entryways, which is that Chicago Avenue bridge. You don’t want a one-way-in, one-way-out for a casino. So there’s a lot of variables. We’re moving as fast as we can. Our goal is to get open. We’d love to be open today.”
Mike Anzelc, vice president of project development for Bally’s, described the Chicago Avenue bridge project as “absolutely critical.”
Assistant Transportation Commissioner William Higgins assured Ald. Walter “Red” Burnett (27th), whose ward includes the permanent casino site, that the Chicago Department of Transportation is “on track with the Halsted and Chicago [Avenue] projects, and we anticipate being done with construction by December 2026.”
The list of casino-related infrastructure projects includes: removing the temporary Chicago Avenue bridge over the Chicago River and replacing it with a tied-arch bridge; removing and replacing the Chicago-Halsted viaduct; adding dedicated CTA bus lanes; and removing and replacing street lights and traffic signals.
With the financing, construction and contracting problems that Bally’s has already encountered, Buckner told the Sun-Times last week that it’s reasonable to question whether the need for another extension signals long-term viability concerns.
Buckner said he shares those concerns, particularly about whether, even if the permanent casino does get fully built, the revenue produced would be enough to save police and fire pension funds hovering dangerously close to bankruptcy.
On Thursday, the Bally’s team downplayed those concerns and glossed over the lackluster performance of the company’s temporary casino at Medinah Temple.
The Medinah casino so far has generated just $35 million in gambling tax revenue for police and fire pension funds. More troubling is the fact that the city’s share “dropped slightly” from $16.1 million in 2024 — less than half the original projection in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget — to $15.8 million last year.
“We realize that the temporary [casino] has had challenges — from parking and access. … It’s really amenity-related,” Jewett said.
“Once you can add in a true entertainment aspect — a 3,000-seat theater, a 500-room hotel, a rooftop bar, multiple sit-down restaurants, a food court, a riverwalk and then, really a campus feel — that casino doesn’t exist in the state today. … So we are highly confident that we can meet the projections for the permanent casino.”
City Council members have their doubts.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said her South Side ward is filled with senior citizens who have no idea there’s a casino in downtown Chicago, let alone where it is. Chinatown Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) said the city "needs to get control over the number of buses coming in, essentially stealing away potential gaming customers."
Taylor added, “People are still going to Indiana. They are not visiting the one in Chicago … because they don’t know. It’s not well-advertised and you all are not doing all that you can to make sure that this thing actually works.”
Taylor said many organizations in her ward “put seniors on a bus and take them to other casinos because this one is not accessible. This one is not reaching out. … I need to see you all do a better job.”
When Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) offered the same advice, Bally’s President Ameet Patel changed the subject to the permanent casino.
“I can tell you in my sleep it will be the pride of the entire community. There is not a casino here anywhere close to us that will have a 3,000-seat multilevel theater bringing national acts to a riverwalk experience," Patel said. “If I see the renderings today, it gives me goosebumps."
