Chicago Mayor denies having already selected Bally’s to win casino licence

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has denied reports that the city has chosen Bally’s proposal for Chicago’s first casino.

US.- The mayor of Chicago has denied news reports that claim the city has chosen Bally’s proposal as the winning bid for Chicago’s first casino. Lori Lightfoot said the special committee tasked with evaluating the three remaining casino proposals has not completed its work and that no bidder had been chosen.

“The reporting today in advance of even the evaluation committee meeting and making a recommendation to me, that’s just not accurate,” Lightfoot said.

The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business all reported that Bally’s bid to build a $1.74bn-casino in the River West neighbourhood was expected to win the bidding process. The proposal includes a 3,000 seat theatre, a sports museum, an extension of the Chicago Riverwalk, a pedestrian bridge, a 500-room hotel, an outdoor music venue and several restaurants.

The other two companies competing for the licence to build and operate Chicago’s first casino are Hard Rock and Rush Street Gaming’s Rivers 78.

The proposals

• Bally´s: at the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center. Valued at $1.8bn, a 3,600-gaming positions casino, a 500-room high-rise hotel, 70,000 square-foot entertainment venue.
• Hard Rock Chicago: a $1.7bn property at ONE Central with up to 500 rooms, eight restaurants, six bars and lounges, a 3,500-seat Hard Rock Live, Rock Spa, Hard Rock Music and Entertainment Experience, 3,400 slots, and 166 table games.
• Rivers 78 Gaming LLC: in the eight-acre riverfront entertainment district at the northern end of the mixed-use 78 neighbourhood. A $2bn property with 300 rooms; eight restaurants, five bars, and lounges; riverfront plaza; observation tower with indoor-outdoor viewing space; Harbor Hall multipurpose riverfront venue for live entertainment, culture-arts and community programs with rooftop space; 2,600 slots and 190 table games.

The city projects Bally’s River West proposal as the most lucrative of the finalists, with estimated annual tax revenues of almost $192m, according to a city report.

Chicago casino bidders scrutinised

Chicago aldermen presented concerns about the city’s proposed first casino to a special committee call. At the meeting, they said neighbours of the proposed sites were worried about what a casino could mean for their communities. The three neighbourhoods in consideration are South Loop, which includes Chinatown and Pilsen, the area west of Soldier Field and River North. 

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot has defended the project. She said won’t let that local opposition stand in the way of a Chicago casino that will provide much-needed funding to the state.