(WTTW News)
Just ahead of the new year, Bally’s Chicago casino at the Medinah Temple in River North is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting Wednesday.
The extended hours come more than three months after the temporary casino’s grand opening. The hours at the casino were originally from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m.
There were more than 249,000 admissions to the casino in its first three months of opening, according to the most recent Illinois Gaming Board report. That’s second in the state to Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, which had over 760,000 admissions during the same period.
Bally’s Chicago casino has brought in $2.7 million in state taxes and $2.2 million in local taxes in its first three months. The casino ranks fourth out of 15 casinos in the state for generating tax revenue, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
The casino also announced plans to expand its shuttle services in the city. Shuttle service direct to the casino currently runs for people coming from Wentworth Avenue and 28th Street at New Furama Restaurant and Wentworth Avenue and Archer Avenue near the Chinatown Library.
A report by Block Club Chicago found the casino was operating shuttles from Chinatown unbeknownst to local leaders for the past two months. Even before the opening of Bally’s Chicago casino, local leaders raised concerns about a casino targeting communities with a history of problem gambling and fueling gambling addiction in neighborhoods.
The temporary casino has nearly 800 slot machines and 56 table games.
Bally’s Chicago plans on operating the casino location at the Medinah Temple until it completes construction on an all-new permanent riverfront casino at what is now the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center near Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street.
The $1.74 billion permanent casino location in River West is scheduled to open in 2026.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]
