Casinos and Gambling
The latest news and updates about Illinois’ gambling expansion, which will bring a casino to Chicago and legalized sports betting across the state.
The corporation behind Chicago’s casino announced Thursday it accepted an $18.25-per-share buyout from Standard General, the New York hedge fund led by Bally’s chairman Soo Kim.
Bally’s has secured $940 million to build the River West casino, but the terms of the deal, the saturated gaming market and the underperforming temporary casino raise questions that ought to be answered publicly at City Council hearings, an alderman writes.
The Hall is getting ready to welcome its second class of inductees next month at the Circa sportsbook in Las Vegas.
Bally’s says it has locked up $940 million in construction financing to build a 34-story hotel tower now slated for Ohio Street and the Chicago River.
Since 2019, he has recorded a ridiculous 356 profit units in the KBO. College hoops and football, NASCAR and golf also land in his crosshairs.
Bet on it: Jay Kornegay is at least one Vegas handicapper who thinks the Bears will be hard-pressed to finish with a winning record.
Bally’s will have trouble meeting its state-mandated September 2026 deadline for a $1.7 billion permanent casino, according to a gaming expert and Mayor Brandon Johnson. It’s been running a temporary casino at Medinah Temple.
As CEO of Gaming USA Corp. and editor of the Gaming Industry Daily Report, Alan Woinski has watched Detroit and New Orleans struggle to complete their ambitious casino projects. The financial hurdles for Bally’s in Chicago are infinitely worse, he says.
The Bally’s River West casino effort has been troubled from the start. Public hearings on the matter could be just the thing to find out what’s happening — and how to move forward.
The winner bought her ticket via the app and wants to remain anonymous. She said she hasn’t told her mother that she’s won the jackpot, but she’s planning to share the winnings ‘and enjoying life with my family.’
“I think that one’s still to be determined, to be perfectly frank with you,” Mayor Brandon Johnson told the Sun-Times Editorial Board Monday, referring to Bally’s plan for a $1.7 billion permanent casino along the Chicago River.
Major online oddsmakers like FanDuel and DraftKings say they have to “reevaluate” their Illinois operations with a hefty tax increase on the way. Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state is just getting its fair share from the $1 billion industry.
While revenue sore spots were a focal point of many meetings among top Democrats, the governor’s office and stakeholders, it appears the governor is poised to get the revenue he had sought in his own budget proposal, with some concessions and some additions.
The gambler, known industrywide as KrackMan or Krack, wrote: ‘‘I live in the supposed sports-betting capital of the world . . . but have to go to Florida to make bets.’’
The Chicago native and veteran sports bettor supplies selections to members of his handicapping service. At some point in 2022, Murges lost his sense of smell. Afternoon fatigue became commonplace.
Bet on it: Don’t expect Pedro Grifol’s team, which is on pace to challenge the 2003 Tigers for the most losses in a season, to be favored much this year.
Milas is performing thorugh May 5 at Steppenwolf Theatre’s Merle Ruskin Garage Space.
With the pandemic bumping Euro 2020 to 2021 and the funkiness of Qatar 2022 shifting the World Cup to December, Vegas shops will welcome the sport’s return to normalcy.
As Bally’s chairman Soo Kim tries to take the company private, a pair of influential investors say his bid should be rejected — and that a more experienced company should be brought in to build the city’s long-sought casino.
After welcoming guests for 67 years, the Las Vegas Strip’s third-oldest casino will shut its doors for good Tuesday.