Illinois Gaming Board gives preliminary approval to Bally's temporary casino at Medinah Temple
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bally's plan for a temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North cleared a key regulatory hurdle on Thursday, when the Illinois Gaming Board approved a "determination of preliminary suitability" for the facility.
Gaming Board officials noted the approval is not the final step Bally's needs to complete before they may open the temporary casino. Bally's must still get a temporary operating permit for the facility, and must still clear a number of legal requirements, including a two- to four-day test run of the temporary casino.
If Bally's clears those hurdles, the Illinois Gaming Board's administrator could issue the temporary operating permit without the need for another vote by the board.
Bally's has said it hopes to open the temporary casino by late summer, but it's unclear if they'll be able to clear all of the Gaming Board requirements by then.
Bally's chairman Soo Kim called the process for gaining state approval of the first casino in Chicago "a pretty weighty thing."
"We've asked the city of Chicago to bet on Bally's, and we're here to pay that bet off," Kim told the Gaming Board. "This facility and the permanent will be our flagship, but also I think will be the flagship of Illinois gaming."
The temporary casino is expected to create more than 500 jobs, with the $1.7 billion permanent casino in River West expected to create 3,000 jobs once it's approved and built, according to Bally's chief legal officer Kim Barker Lee. Bally's aims to have a workforce that includes 60% people of color, 45% women, 5% military veterans, and 5% people with disabilities.
Medinah Temple has a 134,000-square-foot interior, including 3 levels, with 34,000 square feet of gaming space, according to Bally's vice president Mark Wong. Once complete, the temporary casino wil feature more than 750 slot machines and more than 50 table games. The facility also will include a quick-serve coffee shop, a bar, an Asian cuisine restaurant, and a casual dining restaurant.
Bally's officials said they already have 200 students in their casino dealer school, with more than 400 total candidates lined up.
More than 1,500 people attended two recent job fairs for the temporary and permanent casinos, with more than 11,000 total job applicants so far.
The Chicago City Council approved plans for Bally's temporary and permanent casinos last summer by a vote of 39-5, despite the vehement objections of Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes Medinah Temple, and neighbors the permanent casino site in River West.
Reilly has repeatedly blasted the selection process that was set up by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, noting she created a special City Council committee to consider five bidders for the Casino, only to choose Bally's from among a list of three finalists without seeking any formal recommendations from the committee.
He and fellow downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) have repeatedly warned that Bally's casino plan will exacerbate traffic problems downtown, and bring an increase in crime. They also have questioned whether the casino will be able to generate the kind of money Lightfoot and Bally's have claimed.
"People in this room raised these red flags now, and I hope to God they don't come true," Reilly said before last summer's City Council vote.
Hopkins has argued the Bally's team doesn't have any experience operating a casino in a city as large as Chicago, and that has no background whatsoever in actually building casinos since it has purchased all of its other gambling operations, rather than built them itself.
"We're hitching our wagon to an inexperienced horse, and that is a problem," Hopkins said last summer.
Hopkins has also repeatedly warned that Bally's casino plan at Medinah Temple will increase traffic problems downtown - and bring an increase in crime.
"We'll see what happens in the River North area when you have large numbers of people with cash in their pocket, walking the sidewalks to get to this temporary facility," Hopkins told CBS 2's Shardaa Gray on Thursday. "That will result in an increase in crime and robbery."
Hopkins also places blame on former Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration.
"This was one of the failures of the previous mayoral administration. Mayor Lightfoot wanted this here - and she wanted the permanent facility on Chicago and Halsted," he said. "These were bad decisions, and now we have to live with the consequences."
Hopkins also has noted Bally's has reported $3.4 billion in debt, questioning whether the company can even finance the casino project.
Bally's executives, however, have pointed to a sale-leaseback agreement on the land where it plans to build, which will bring in up to $500 million to help finance the casino. The company also has up to $500 million more from a line of credit, and can raise another $635 million from sale-leaseback deals on the land for other casinos it operates.
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), whose ward would be home to the permanent casino, has praised Bally's plans.
Bally's hopes to open the permanent casino at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Streets, featuring 3,400 slots and 170 table games, in early 2026. In addition to the casino itself, the permanent site will include a 500-room hotel, 10 bars and restaurants, a 3,000-seat entertainment center, new park space along the Chicago River, a water taxi stop, and more.
The Medinah Temple was built in 1912 for the Masonic Order of the Mystic Shrine on Wabash Avenue – then called Cass Street – between Ontario and Ohio streets. The ornate Moorish revival building originally housed a 4,200-seat auditorium that over the decades featured events such as the annual Shrine Circus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra recordings, concerts featuring A-listers, and live performances of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor. The auditorium featured a 92-rank Austin pipe organ.
In 2001, the Medinah Temple and neighboring Tree Studios artists' residence were redeveloped, and in 2003, a Bloomingdale's Home and Furniture store opened in the Medinah Temple building. The Bloomingdale's store closed in 2020 and the building is now vacant.
The choice to house the temporary casino at Medinah Temple in Mayor Lightfoot's plan was considered a big victory for its current owner, Friedman Properties. River North developer Albert Friedman donated $6,000 to Mayor Lightfoot's campaign the same day she narrowed casino bids from five to three.
Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection this year, and has been succeeded by Mayor Brandon Johnson.