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Bally’s is about to organize supervised practice gaming sessions for around 350 guests in its temporary Chicago casino at Medinah Temple, inside the historic River North landmark.
According to the local media, the casino could get the Illinois Gaming Board’s approval and, as previously announced, open this weekend.
Slot machines go for their first spins under regulator supervision
As the Chicago Sun-Times reports, passers-by can already see slot machines through the glass doors of the temporary casino location at 600 N. Wabash Ave. Casino officials organized practice gaming sessions for Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, under the supervision of state gambling regulators.
Ameet Patel, Bally’s regional general manager, told the Chicago Sun-Times outside the casino on Tuesday:
“We think we’re ready. We want to show them that we’re 110% ready. This will be a proud moment for Chicago and everybody around this area.”
Although it’s a test run, hundreds of workers, staff and card dealers will use real money to test the slot machines.
The Illinois casino’s capacity is about 3,200.
Sneak peek into Chicago’s new Bally’s Casino at Medinah Temple
Bally’s allowed local reporters to enter the casino and have an early look inside its temporary casino.
From the main entrance on Wabash, visitors will approach a full-service round bar and a vast assortment of slot machines, including video poker.
The casino features about 50 table games and 750 slots, of which:
- 420 are on the first floor
- The second floor has another 200 slots, 28 tables of craps, roulette and other table games
- The third floor has more slots and tables, mainly catering to high rollers
Chicago expects the temporary casino to bring $50M in annual revenue
Bally’s temporary casino hopes to generate up to $50 million yearly revenue for its three-year residency in River North.
Bally’s Corporation won a Chicago casino license in May 2022. It beat out Hard Rock & Rush Street by offering an upfront payment of $25 million. It will now become the 15th casino in Illinois.
Meanwhile, Bally’s is working on its permanent $1.7 billion casino project at the River West site of the Chicago Tribune printing plant. City officials hope Chicago will collect $200 million per year in revenue from the permanent casino and its 3,400 slots.
The permanent location is expected to be completed in 2026.
