{"id":301448,"date":"2023-12-03T01:44:36","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T07:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=301448"},"modified":"2023-12-03T01:44:36","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T07:44:36","slug":"ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/","title":{"rendered":"Bally\u2019s Reportedly Facing Multiple Investigations, Including Feds, Over Chicago Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bally\u2019s efforts to bring a casino hotel to Chicago — the city\u2019s first such venue — could be marred by multiple investigations, potentially including one by the US Attorney\u2019s Office, into the process by which the company won the bidding competition.<\/p>\n

\"Bally's
Bally’s temporary Chicago casino at Medinah Temple. Reports surfaced that there may be multiple investigations into how the company won the Chicago bidding process. (Image: Axios Chicago<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crain\u2019s Chicago Business<\/em> reported the US Attorney\u2019s Office is looking into complaints from other gaming operators that lost in the Chicago casino competition. The federal agency didn\u2019t confirm the inquiry to the media outlet, but Ald. Brian Hopkins (D-Ward 2) said the investigation is happening. Hopkins has previously vocally criticized<\/a> former Mayor Lori Lightfoot\u2019s (D-Chicago) handling of the casino bidding race. Earlier this month, the alderman said the $1.7 billion project is now in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

\n

Unidentified sources told Crain\u2019s <\/em>that Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg is also looking into the matter. Her office\u2019s policy is to not comment on possible investigations. A spokeswoman for Bally\u2019s told Crain<\/em>\u2019s the regional casino operator isn\u2019t aware of any investigations, but there is speculation that both the federal and local inquiries have been ongoing for several months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Rhode Island-based gaming company has been operating a temporary casino<\/a> at Medinah Temple in the River North section of Chicago for over two months. It is aiming to open a permanent casino hotel at the Freedom Center, a 30-acre riverfront property that Tribune Publishing has occupied, in 2026.<\/p>\n

Rivals That Could Be Upset About Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino<\/h2>\n

Lightfoot selected Bally\u2019s as the winning bidder for the Chicago casino license in May 2022 over Hard Rock International — the gaming arm of the Seminole Tribe of Florida — and Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming.<\/p>\n

\n

While the Windy City is the third-largest in the US, just four operators submitted proposals to even participate in the competition and the process failed to lure big-name Las Vegas gaming companies<\/a>, such as MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts, due to the onerous tax rates Illinois and the city set for the gaming venue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Between Hard Rock and Rush Street, it\u2019s not clear which one feels more jilted by Bally\u2019s being crowned the victor in Chicago, but reports have surfaced that Rush Street was charged twice as much as Bally\u2019s to file bids for various potential casino locations.<\/p>\n

Additionally and in the tradition of Chicago\u2019s notorious history of political corruption, it\u2019s believed a city consultant that examined the financial health of the bidders raised money for Bally\u2019s and that wasn\u2019t disclosed to aldermen prior to the vote. At the end of the third quarter, the gaming company had $3.44 billion in debt, which is well excess of its current market capitalization of $525.57 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Worst Decision\u2019<\/h2>\n

Hopkins previously characterized Lightfoot\u2019s selection of Bally\u2019s as one of her worst decisions, which is saying something given that she was swept out of office after just one term and that her approval ratings were dismal.<\/p>\n

He was among seven members of the city council that voted against the choice of Bally\u2019s. The gaming company has drawn the ire of Chicago policymakers on other fronts. For example, Ald. Brendan Reilly (D-Ward 42) in October 2022 lambasted a traffic study<\/a> conducted by Bally\u2019s for the Medinah Temple casino, bashing the claim that 40% of visitors to the temporary casino will bike, walk, or use public transportation.<\/p>\n

Potentially adding to the brewing controversy is the point that the city allowed Bally\u2019s to alter the terms of an agreement with minority that would allow the gaming company to buy those shareholders out of the Chicago project at a price that cannot be negotiated, according to Crain\u2019s.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bally\u2019s efforts to bring a casino hotel to Chicago — the city\u2019s first such venue — could be marred by multiple investigations, potentially including one by the US Attorney\u2019s Office, into the process by which the company won the bidding competition. Crain\u2019s Chicago Business reported the US Attorney\u2019s Office is looking into complaints from other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":298239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,33810,86430,86438,84511],"tags":[81897,81898,86455,86457,82714],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBally's Could Be Facing Investigations Into Chicago Bidding<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bally's could be staring at federal, local investigations into Chicago casino bidding process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bally's Could Be Facing Investigations Into Chicago Bidding\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bally's could be staring at federal, local investigations into Chicago casino bidding process.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-03T07:44:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1693933123554.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/\",\"name\":\"Bally's Could Be Facing Investigations Into Chicago Bidding\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1693933123554.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-03T07:44:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-03T07:44:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Bally's could be staring at federal, local investigations into Chicago casino bidding process.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-could-be-facing-investigations-into-chicago-bidding\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1693933123554.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1693933123554.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Bally's temporary Chicago casino at Medinah Temple. 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