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Chicago & Midwest  + Downtown  + Hospitality  |  August 12, 2022
Bally's Corporation has entered into a ground lease on the site of its future Bally's Chicago casino development
Paul Bubny
By: Paul Bubny

Bally’s Files Application with Illinois Gaming Board for First Chicago Casino 

Bally’s Corporation on Wednesday filed its application with the Illinois Gaming Board seeking approval of its plan for a $1.7-billion riverfront casino-resort in Chicago’s River West neighborhood, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. 

It’s the latest step toward breaking ground on the massive entertainment complex, a plan that Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed through the City Council in May. The project still needs approval from the Chicago Plan Commission. 

The city is banking on Bally’s obtaining both green lights in time to start taking bets at a temporary casino installed at the landmark Medinah Temple as early as next summer. However, that timeline could be a long shot. 

The 2019 state law that created the Chicago casino license and five others across the state gives the Gaming Board up to a year to review Bally’s application, with the possibility of an extension beyond that.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).
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  • ◦Policy/Gov't