Chicago Casino Taxes Fall Short Of Projections By Almost $10 MillionDecember Numbers Offer Hope For Turnaround |
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Casino gaming may not have been the boon to city coffers that Chicago leaders envisioned – at least after the first few months of operations at the Bally’s temporary venue. The property opened in September and so far, the city’s projections for tax revenue have been off, considerably.
According to the Illinois Gaming Board, the property has yielded $30 million in revenue since opening in September. The city receives $3.1 million of that in tax revenue, but that falls well short of the former Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) administration’s projection of $12.8 million – a $9.8 million shortfall.
City officials have noted that the administration “did not budget for any tax revenues from the Chicago temporary casino in 2023. Additionally, the city regularly reviews the performance of all revenue sources and adjusts forecasts, as necessary.”
Coming Up Short, But Hopeful
Lightfoot worked for years to bring a casino within the Chicago city limits and her administration announced in May that Bally’s had won a bid for the property.
The company plans to build a $1.7 billion casino resort at Freedom Center in the River West area. The casino will offer 3,400 slot machines, 170 table games, 500-room hotel, 3,000-seat entertainment venue, six restaurants, and more. Construction is expected to begin this year with the property opening in 2026.
The temporary casino, however, is located in the Medinah Temple building and has only 800 slots, 56 table games, and two restaurants. Despite being located within the city limits, the casino does face competition from casinos around the Chicagoland area and across state lines in Indiana.
In early December, the Hollywood Casino officially made the move from riverboat operation to land-based property. The $350 million Penn Entertainment casino is adjacent to the Chicago Premium Outlets and replaces the current Hollywood Casino, which was located on the Fox River since 1993.
Construction also recently began on a new Hollywood casino in Joliet as well, also moving that riverboat operation on land in a new $185 million complex. Whether the plethora of casino competition surrounding Chicago led to lower tax revenue wasn’t mentioned by city officials.
Despite the missed projections, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) administration remains hopeful that things will turn around. December saw Bally’s attract 100,000 visitors, the highest casino attendance in the state. That produced the highest monthly revenue total yet for Bally’s, with $8.5 million in gross revenue with $864,645 going to city taxes.
“We’ve added free parking, new promotions, and expanded hours to meet customers’ expectations,” Vice President and general manager Mark Wong said. “Our guests have responded positively.”
The casino has also made some other headlines in recent weeks. News broke in December that the bidding process for the casino is facing city and federal investigations regarding alleged financing of the casino and potential conflicts of interest.
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