Bally's Chicago Thriving Ahead of New Casino Construction

Bally’s Chicago casino located at 600 N. Wabash Avenue near the Magnificent Mile won more than $11.73 million from players in May, the Illinois Gaming Control Board (IGCB) reported.

Bally's Chicago collected $6.98 million from slots, $4.75 million from table games in May

The casino at Chicago's Medinah Temple features 800 slot machines and 56 live dealer table games. Slots accounted for $6.98 million while table games won $4.75 million. May was the casino’s best month to date. It should be noted that the 35,000-square-foot gaming facility opened last September.

“Our continued growth demonstrates Bally’s Chicago’s popularity with locals and tourists alike, aligns with our community engagement initiatives, and supports our dedication to responsible gaming,” said Mark Wong, vice president and general manager.

Furthermore, the temporary casino will remain in operation as Bally’s builds its permanent brick-and-mortar establishment at the Freedom Center. The downtown Windy City casino and resort is scheduled to open in 2026. The project includes a 500-room hotel, 10 restaurants, a 3,000-seat theater, and a casino with 4,000 gaming positions.

Bally’s Chicago will become the largest casino in Illinois.

Though, funding the project has been difficult. Bally’s continues to seek roughly $800 million to support the $1.7 billion agreement.

City expects the casino to generate $243 million in adjusted gross receipts, $35 million in local gaming taxes this year

According to Devin O'Connor of Casino.org, the city last year estimated that the temporary Bally’s Chicago would win $242.7 million from players in 2024, or about $20.22 million a month. From January through May, the casino won $52.36 million, or about $10.47 million a month. 

In April, Bally’s Chicago ranked fourth in revenue among the state’s 15 casinos. Admissions to Bally’s Chicago increased 11.6% to nearly 118,000 visitors, finishing second behind Rivers Casino Des Plaines.

For the first quarter of 2024, Bally’s Chicago generated nearly $30.3 million in adjusted gross receipts and more than $3 million in local tax revenue, according to Gaming Board data.

Even then, that's nowhere near the pace needed to meet Chicago’s revenue target for its first casino. The city projects the operator will generate $243 million in adjusted gross receipts and $35 million in local gaming taxes this year.

Moreover, Bally’s reported $2.44 billion in total revenue for its 2023 operations, up 8.5% from 2022. The company’s casinos and iGaming platforms won more than $1.99 billion from gamblers. That's an 8% year-over-year improvement.