Raising the stakes on the standoff with the city over the advent of video gambling terminals, Bally’s Chicago is pausing construction on nearly all non-gaming amenities at its $1.7 billion casino complex going up in River West.
The reset notice, issued Saturday to the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a general contracting partnership overseeing the project, essentially puts everything from a towering hotel and events center to a number of planned restaurants on hold.
The decision also puts 1,500 union workers on hiatus, as much of the construction grounds to a halt, Bally’s said. The casino itself remains on target for an early 2027 opening, but the larger entertainment complex is in temporary limbo, pending resolution of the VGT dispute.
“Bally’s issued a notification to the Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC) that it is resetting the pace of construction of elements of Bally’s Chicago permanent casino,” the company said in a statement. “The potential for an uncontrolled proliferation of video gambling terminals (VGTs) is in breach of the City’s commitment not to expand gaming in the Host Community Agreement (HCA) and creates uncertainty that could be harmful for Bally’s Chicago prospects.”
Bally’s contends the legalization of video gambling terminals in Chicago as part of this year’s budget violates the 2022 host agreement between the Rhode Island-based company and the city to build the permanent casino and amenities. It is also a point of contention between Mayor Brandon Johnson and the aldermen who included the terminals in the budget over his objection.
A mayoral spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Illinois passed the Video Gaming Act in 2009 and the machines began showing up in restaurants, truck stops and bars in 2012. There are now nearly 50,000 VGTs at more than 8,700 locations across the state — the most in the country, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Some of that growth has come at the expense of casinos. This year, the VGTs have generated more net income and about twice as much in taxes as the state’s 17 casinos through July, according to Gaming Board data.
Chicago approved video gambling last fall, and aldermen included revenue from the terminals in the 2026 budget, hoping to plug a $6.8 million funding gap. There were 268 pending Chicago VGT location applications at the Illinois Gaming Board as of last month, but none had been approved to begin operations.
Bally’s Chicago would like to see it stay that way, retaining law firm RKF Global to navigate the VGT dispute with the city. In an unusual twist, RKF Global employs former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose administration chose Bally’s to build Chicago’s first casino.
Sources familiar with the matter say Bally’s is planning to withhold an annual $4 million payment to the city due in September, pending resolution of the VGT dispute. A lot more is at stake than that payment, with the city projecting the permanent casino complex to generate $200 million in annual local tax revenue.
In May 2022, Bally’s won a heated competition overseen by the Lightfoot administration, besting four other proposals with its plan to build a $1.7 billion entertainment complex including a 500-room hotel, a 3,000-seat theater, 10 restaurants and 4,000 gaming positions, at the site of the former Tribune printing plant in River West. Bally’s has been operating a smaller temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North since 2023.
Bally’s intends to fulfill its obligations under the host agreement, according to sources, including the buildout of the gleaming 34-story hotel, which has already risen up to full height along the Chicago River at the future casino site. But Bally’s is slowing the hotel’s launch, along with everything from restaurants and a food hall to an events center while the VGT issue remains up in the air.
If the city backs off the video gambling rollout, Bally’s will once again ramp up construction at an accelerated pace on the full entertainment complex, sources said.
“We do not take this lightly because of the potential impact on many of the 1,500 union trades people who have been working hard to build Bally’s Chicago,” Bally’s said in its statement. “We will continue to assess our options, which we hope will include more productive discussions with the Mayor’s Office and City Council.”
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
