{"id":14112,"date":"2024-08-28T11:52:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=14112"},"modified":"2024-08-28T11:52:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T11:52:03","slug":"demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Demolition Work Begins on Bally&#8217;s Chicago Casino Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/demolition-of-the-former-chicago-tribune-printing-plant.jpg\" alt=\"demolition of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant\" width=\"300\" title=\"Demolition Work Begins on Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino Project\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-14113\" \/><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bally&#8217;s Chicago casino project at 777 W. Chicago Ave has officially started with demolition work initiated behind red and white smoke bombs and \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d as a soundtrack. <\/li>\n<li>The former Chicago Tribune printing plant will be turned into a casino by September 2026.  <\/li>\n<li>As the knock-down work began, chairman Soo Kim expressed optimism about the revenue potential of the new casino being built at the site.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As excavators were seen making their way for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/ballys-to-develop-chicago-casino-resort-after-winning-license\/\">Chicago\u2019s next mega-casino<\/a> expected to see the light of day in September 2026, Bally\u2019s chairman took the opportunity to once again express confidence in the project\u2019s revenue potential. <\/p>\n<p>The dramatic demolition took place behind red and white smoke bombs and Queen\u2019s iconic \u201c<em>We Will Rock You<\/em>\u201d sound was heard in the background.<\/p>\n<p>While the tearing down began at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2024\/05\/19\/chicago-tribune-freedom-center-final-run\/\">former Chicago Tribune printing plant<\/a> at 777 W. Chicago Ave., chairman <strong>Soo Kim<\/strong> explained that his hedge fund\u2019s $4.6 billion merger deal aimed at buying out shareholders should be considered an \u201c<em>indicator<\/em>\u201d of their optimism regarding the massive casino underway at the site. <\/p>\n<h2>\u201c500-Room Hotel Tower, at Four-Star Level or Better\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Leaving aside critical voices questioning whether the corporation has what it takes to finish the $1.34 billion casino project in the River West area that is already suffocated by gambling venues and video gaming options, Kim said Bally\u2019s will begin \u201c<em>eating a lot of people\u2019s lunches<\/em>\u201d in the market. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Most importantly, Indiana<\/em>\u201d, Kim added during a meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board. <\/p>\n<p>The chairman expressed his disagreement with the current state of things that is seeing gambling money reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/us\/states\/indiana\">Indiana<\/a>, which he said was \u201c<em>not great for Illinois<\/em>\u201d, adding their projected amenities including a 500-room hotel tower \u201c<em>at four-star level or better<\/em>\u201d will \u201c<em>not even be close<\/em>\u201d to the current market offerings. <\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qDI--T9csd0?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0?ecver=2\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In July, Bally\u2019s announced that it secured financing to cover the $800 million funding gap for the new casino project while releasing the new site plan displaying the hotel tower on the south end of the gaming campus that will spread across 30 acres. <\/p>\n<p>The redesign became mandatory once planners acknowledged the original placement planned for the Chicago River could have damaged a water main in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Kim\u2019s hedge fund, Standard General, managed to reach a merger deal at $4.6 billion to buy out Bally\u2019s shareholders. <\/p>\n<p>The agreement will help keep the company publicly traded while pending federal review.<\/p>\n<h2>The New Casino to \u201cHave an Incredible Impact\u201d on Chicago<\/h2>\n<p>While <strong>Mayor Brandon Johnson<\/strong> was not present during the demolition, he appears to have had a change of heart, becoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/ballys-chicago-casino-still-in-the-books-despite-mayor-comments\/\">less skeptical than he was earlier in the year<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>In a Tuesday statement provided by Bally\u2019s, Johnson called the upcoming casino \u201c<em>one of the largest economic investments in Chicago<\/em>\u201d and expected to \u201c<em>have an incredible impact<\/em>\u201d on the city \u201c<em>as a job creator, hospitality destination, and revenue generator<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Since its grand opening in September 2023, Bally\u2019s temporary casino at the historic Medinah Temple has fallen far short of the city budget projections.<\/p>\n<p>Kim explained to the editorial board that they were \u201c<em>still ramping<\/em>\u201d at the Medinah operation, adding the $200 million per year projections were still feasible.<\/p>\n<p>The chairman also added that Bally\u2019s could install slot machines at Midway Airport within one year, as per the state gambling expansion law passed in 2019, authorizing a casino in the city. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: Bally&#8217;s Chicago casino project at 777 W. Chicago Ave has officially started with demolition work initiated behind red and white smoke bombs and \u201cWe Will Rock You\u201d as a soundtrack. The former Chicago Tribune printing plant will be turned into a casino by September 2026. As the knock-down work began, chairman Soo Kim expressed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-casino","category-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Demolition Work Begins on Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bally&#039;s new casino project has taken one step forward as demolition of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant was initiated at 777 W. Chicago Ave. on Tuesday; the site will be transformed into a casino by September 2026.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Demolition Work Begins on Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bally&#039;s new casino project has taken one step forward as demolition of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant was initiated at 777 W. Chicago Ave. on Tuesday; the site will be transformed into a casino by September 2026.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-28T11:52:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/demolition-of-the-former-chicago-tribune-printing-plant.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ella McDonald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ella McDonald\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ella McDonald\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1847ac7fb6ef98e52b80c47d530441b2\"},\"headline\":\"Demolition Work Begins on Bally&#8217;s Chicago Casino Project\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-28T11:52:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/demolition-of-the-former-chicago-tribune-printing-plant.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Casino\",\"USA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/\",\"name\":\"Demolition Work Begins on Bally\u2019s Chicago Casino Project\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/demolition-work-begins-on-ballys-chicago-casino-project\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/demolition-of-the-former-chicago-tribune-printing-plant.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-28T11:52:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.legitgambling.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1847ac7fb6ef98e52b80c47d530441b2\"},\"description\":\"Bally's new casino project has taken one step forward as demolition of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant was initiated at 777 W. 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