Bally’s Medinah Temporary Casino Site Gets Approval

State officials have approved a temporary casino location, marking another significant milestone towards the opening of the Bally’s Chicago mega-casino.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has given unanimous approval for supplier licenses to groups linked with the historic Medinah Temple in Chicago. Medinah Building LLC, which manages the building, was awarded the first license. The second license was granted to Medinah Holdings LLC, responsible for the land where the building is located.

Bally’s temporary location is expected to be Medinah, situated at 600 Wabash Ave., for two to three years. This is while the permanent location, costing $1.7 billion, is being built on the site of the Chicago Tribune printing press.

What to expect from Bally’s temporary casino

Bally’s and city officials are optimistic that the Medinah Temple casino could start serving customers this summer. Nonetheless, Bally’s gaming license is yet to receive approval from the IGB.

Bally’s turned in its application in August 2022, and the IGB has a maximum of one year to scrutinize it. There’s also a possibility that the review period could be extended for a more thorough analysis of the application.

If Bally’s receives approval, Medinah Temple will offer a wide variety of gambling options for bettors. The temporary casino, which will be open around the clock, will occupy three floors. It will feature 800 slot machines, 50 table games, as well as a bar and restaurant.

Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, estimates that the temporary casino could potentially produce up to $200 million in tax revenue annually.

The last minute temporary casino switch

Initially, the plan was to place the temporary casino at the same location as the permanent one: Chicago Ave. and Halsted St. in River West. However, officials expressed concerns about potential traffic congestion on Chicago Ave during the construction of the permanent site.

Lightfoot reportedly recommended Bally’s to temporarily relocate to Medinah Temple at the last minute. However, this suggestion did not go down well with Ald. Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward and residents of River North. Reilly stated:

This was an actual swapping within a 24-hour period after I had firmly stated that it would not be accepted… That was a deceptive tactic.

Reilly holds the belief that the establishment of a casino in the city will lead to an increase in crime and further strain the inadequately staffed Chicago Police Department. He further anticipates that the traffic generated by a casino at Medinah Temple will be intolerable. Reilly expressed skepticism about a traffic study released by Bally’s last October, which claimed that the casino would not significantly impact traffic. He did not mince his words in expressing his disagreement with the study’s findings.

In my opinion, this study is seriously deficient, excessively ambiguous, and apparently drafted with the explicit intention of affirming that a casino will be successful at Medinah Temple. After reviewing countless traffic studies throughout the years, I can confidently say that this one lacks substance and doesn’t possess the credibility that would have been delivered by an independent analysis.