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In January, Illinois’ 15 casinos made $118.64 million in revenue from table games and slot machines. The figure represents a 16.0% monthly decrease from IL’s December 2023 gaming revenue totals that topped $141 million.
However, gaming revenue from last month shows a 5.35% annual progress from January 2023.
Bally’s Chicago is the only Illinois casino to show monthly revenue progress
As usual, Rivers Casino posted the highest January revenue, despite being down from December, followed by Grand Victoria, Bally’s Chicago, Harrah’s Joliet, and FHR Illinois.
Bally’s Chicago is the state’s newest casino and the only gaming venue in Chicago. It was the sole property that reported monthly progress in gaming revenue in January. Four of the top five casino properties showed double-digit drops, as follows:
- Rivers Casino: $38.87 million, a 14.40% monthly drop
- Grand Victoria Casino: $10.33 million, a 19.50% monthly decline
- Bally’s Chicago: $9.28 million, a 9.11% monthly increase
- Harrah’s Joliet Casino and Hotel: $9.14 million, an 18.81% drop
- FHR-Illinois LLC: $7.05 million, a 13.56% monthly decrease
In terms of admissions, Bally’s came in second (88,313) in Illinois for January, after Rivers Casino (227,361), located in Chicago’s suburb, Des Plaines. The third was Grand Victoria, (67,461), followed by DraftKings at Casino Queen (61,888) and Hollywood Casino Aurora (59,116).
Bally’s Chicago starts 2024 strong
Bally’s temporary Chicago casino at the Medinah Temple in River North started the new year in style.
According to the Illinois Gaming Board‘s January 2024 report, Bally’s Chicago made $9.28 million in adjusted gross receipts last month – a 9.11% monthly progress from December. The figure is also higher than the $6.7 million that Bally’s Chicago produced in September, its first month of operation opening on Sept. 9.
According to a CBS News article, Vice President and General Manager of Bally’s Chicago, Mark Wong said in a news release:
“January was our highest Gaming Revenue month to date, and we continue to see strong visitor counts. More customers are taking advantage of our free parking and free shuttle service, which continues to grow in popularity. We look forward to implementing valet parking, introducing more shuttle and bus routes, and creating new VIP areas to meet customer demands.”
Bally’s emphasized that since the casino’s opening:
- Its monthly gross gaming revenue rose from $6.8 million to $10.8 million
- Admissions were second highest in the state
- It has employed 620 people, out of which 82% are minorities, more than 50% are women, and 63% are locals
The casino’s permanent location in River West is set to open in 2026.
With retail casinos and online and retail sports betting, could Illinois online casinos be next? There is legislation to legalize online casinos in the state that lawmakers have begun talking about.
