{"id":307789,"date":"2024-01-24T05:38:59","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T11:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=307789"},"modified":"2024-01-24T23:22:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:22:51","slug":"ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/","title":{"rendered":"Bally\u2019s, Chicago Should Redo Casino Approval Process, Says Editorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was revealed last week that Bally\u2019s will have to construct a hotel tower for its permanent Chicago casino in a new location because of municipal water pipes under Chicago Tribune\u2019s Freedom Center.<\/p>\n

\"Bally's
Bally’s temporary Chicago casino at Medinah Temple. A local media outlet is encouraging a redo of the approval process for the permanent casino at Freedom Center. (Image: Axios Chicago<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shifting the location of the proposed 100-room hotel is no easy task. The regional casino operator believes it can move the hotel to another structure slated to be built on the south end of the property. Still, the water pipe issue is viewed as the latest in a long line of snafus involving Bally\u2019s Chicago plans, and some locals believe the entire approval process should be subject to a \u201cdo-over.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent op-ed, the Chicago Sun-Times<\/em> editorial board noted that while the Chicago Plan Commission and City Council previously approved Bally\u2019s Freedom Center plans, Mayor Brandon Johnson should get involved and force a redo of the approval process. The newspaper criticized the gaming company and the city for not being aware of the piping issuer sooner.<\/p>\n

Shame on Bally\u2019s and the city for not having done the work months ago to determine what is underneath the planned hotel site near Chicago Avenue and the river,\u201d<\/strong> wrote the editorial board.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The $1.7 billion Bally\u2019s Chicago is the operator\u2019s most expensive project and will be the first casino hotel in the third-largest U.S. city. The Rhode Island-based gaming company currently runs a temporary gaming venue at Medinah Temple<\/a> in the River North section of the city.<\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s Chicago Beset by Issues<\/h2>\n

For now, it appears Bally\u2019s can move the hotel’s location. However, the need to do so adds to many Chicago venture issues.<\/p>\n

\n

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-Chicago) picked 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<\/div>\n

Since then, controversy has emerged. Last month, reports surfaced that there may be multiple investigations<\/a>, including one federal, into how the city awarded the permit to Bally\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sun-Times <\/em>reported last June<\/a> that Nomura Securities, a city consultant selected to evaluate casino proposals when Lightfoot was mayor, had financial ties to Bally\u2019s \u2014 the company that was ultimately selected over two more established enterprises to build and operate the casino,\u201d wrote the paper\u2019s editorial team.<\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s Chicago Off to Slow Start<\/h2>\n

Compounding the aforementioned woes is the point that the temporary casino is off to a disappointing start. From its debut last September through December, the venue generated just $3.1 million<\/a> in revenue for the city, far short of the $12.8 million previously forecast by the Lightfoot administration.<\/p>\n

Bally\u2019s is aiming to commence construction on the permanent casino hotel at some point this year. If the approval process is restarted, delays could be significant.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the Sun-Times <\/em>editorial board argues a fresh start is necessary to ensure taxpayer confidence in the project and that there are no more negative surprises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was revealed last week that Bally\u2019s will have to construct a hotel tower for its permanent Chicago casino in a new location because of municipal water pipes under Chicago Tribune\u2019s Freedom Center. Shifting the location of the proposed 100-room hotel is no easy task. The regional casino operator believes it can move the hotel […]<\/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":[62,86430,61,86438,84511],"tags":[81897,86455,81901,86457,82714],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBally's Chicago Approval Process Should Be Restarted<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bally\u2019s, Chicago Should Redo Casino Approval Process, Says Paper.\" \/>\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-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bally's Chicago Approval Process Should Be Restarted\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bally\u2019s, Chicago Should Redo Casino Approval Process, Says Paper.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/\" \/>\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=\"2024-01-24T11:38:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-25T05:22:51+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-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/\",\"name\":\"Bally's Chicago Approval Process Should Be Restarted\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1693933123554.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-24T11:38:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-25T05:22:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Bally\u2019s, Chicago Should Redo Casino Approval Process, Says Paper.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-chicago-approval-process-should-be-restarted\/#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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