CHICAGO | City Casino

[The Pimp]

Mayor Lightfoot Picks Bally's Pitch To Develop Casino On Chicago River
The proposed $1.7 billion Bally's casino will have 3,400 slot machines, 500 table games, a 3,000-seat theater, 500-room hotel, and more.

[west-town-brad]

My office faces the medinah temple… the area overall is pretty junky so why not. At least there is a sh*t ton of parking garages.

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

I bet the pedestrian bridge gets axed to appease the River North NIMBYs

During their public town hall they brought up the possibility of closing the pedestrian bridge at night. Hopefully that ends up being the concession and it still gets built.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

During their public town hall they brought up the possibility of closing the pedestrian bridge at night. Hopefully that ends up being the concession and it still gets built.

I don't understand why. Are they afraid of people getting from the casino to their area? Do they realize they aren't on an island and there's other ways, at night, to get between this area and their area?

[gandalf612]

Originally Posted by Chi-Sky21

Sure, but that only really works if there is a good public transportation option which for this location there really is not a good one. The traffic on Halsted in this area once all the developments in Fulton are done is going to be horrible. I have no horse in this race and don't care if the casino goes there but the city is going to need to think of something for this area.

Oh you mean suburbanites might have to move into the city and actually contribute to the tax base instead of driving in on the subsidized highway and stealing our jobs? Boo hoo

[twister244]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Medinah Temple as the interim casino is a HUGE deal. Instead of shuffling gamblers to some shitty repurposed warehouse or Indiana-style riverboat, the temporary casino will be right in the thick of the River North/Mag Mile entertainment district, and in a beautiful historic building to boot. Close to great hotels, restaurants, and public transportation. And it's a temporary shot in the arm to the struggling Mag Mile, but allows for other uses to move into Medinah in the future.

Right off the bat, Medinah will set the tone for Bally's gambling operation as a classy, respectful addition to Chicago's tourist amenities, and not a place for the "degenerate gamblers" to park themselves in front of a slot machine. It will also build excitement and establish a high-end customer base for the permanent facility.

Agreed. And as someone who has never been inside Medinah, I am really excited for this! Even if it's temporary.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by twister244

Agreed. And as someone who has never been inside Medinah, I am really excited for this! Even if it's temporary.

Well, when it was a Bloomingdale's it was... ok, I guess? I really don't like Bloomingdale's though, too fancy for me. I only went there for Nespresso pods...

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I don't understand why. Are they afraid of people getting from the casino to their area? Do they realize they aren't on an island and there's other ways, at night, to get between this area and their area?

Neighbors should welcome more people on the streets at night. Whatever horrors they are imagining is likely not what they would experience. I would hope the bridge would be open to start off, then see how things play out.

[CrazyCres]

Casino Recommendation Report

https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/...ion-Report.pdf

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Well, when it was a Bloomingdale's it was... ok, I guess? I really don't like Bloomingdale's though, too fancy for me. I only went there for Nespresso pods...

Yeah the interior just looked like a fancy department store. Apparently they kept the dome and some of the Moorish ornament on the top floor (old furniture dept) but I never got up that far. The basement, 1st, 2nd floors are just generic white department store. It's not bad architecture, the atrium is nice etc. It's just a little anodyne.

Anyway, what's there now is already a good base for some light renovations. They can do this on the cheap with mostly cosmetic changes, and it won't feel cheap. They can bring in some rugs/carpets to dampen sound and conceal wiring, paint colors and wallpaper, put up some decorative chandeliers and sconces. The hardest part will be retrofitting for two restaurants, since the Bloomingdales did not have any food service.

But the result will be properly luxurious. I think this is a genius move, even if Ald. Reilly hates it and journos are busy pointing out Friedman's campaign donations to Lightfoot. I agree that it would be nice to keep this as a high-roller gambling facility, but I don't think state law authorizes two different sites in Chicago. I also don't think it's a good idea to totally siphon off the high-rollers, which leaves the Tribune site as a more downscale facility.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by marothisu

I don't understand why. Are they afraid of people getting from the casino to their area? Do they realize they aren't on an island and there's other ways, at night, to get between this area and their area?

"The bridge is next to a playground. A CHILDRENS playground! That is used by CHILDREN!"

[Mr Downtown]

Since I have been pushing Medinah as a temporary casino site all along, I'm delighted by this news. Reilly's newsletter this afternoon says he does "not intend to lift [the liquor license] moratorium to allow a temporary casino the ability to serve alcohol in this location."

I think it would have been wiser to have set up three downtown gaming pavilions rather than one massive one, the better to fleece three different tourist segments: Medinah, one of the old Motor Row buildings, and Navy Pier.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

Would be cool if we leaned into the weed legalization and made Medinah Temple a smoke-friendly lounge with some cool activities (video/arcade games, etc.), a food hall, maybe a "drunk history" style Chicago museum - facts and perspectives you may not learn at the kids museums. A stoner oasis in a historic building off Michigan Ave for tourists & locals to hand the city/state tax revenue. See the success of Jazzin at the Shed or Field Museum nights with pop-up bars everywhere.

Weed is heading in a more mainstream direction, but IL is decades behind on the production and brick & mortar retail experience. Might as well carve out a niche in weed tourism where we can...

I can see it now... the Hashish Palace...

The first Chicago-area consumption lounge just opened in Mundelein a few weeks ago. You have to drive to it.

[Randomguy34]

There's going to be a townhall about Bally's casino on May 12th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/332212575757

[Ricochet48]

Originally Posted by ardecila

For the record, I think this will improve property values and bring new customers to neighborhood businesses like Erie Cafe and Victory Tap. It will fill in the dead zone between River North and River West with a great, walkable neighborhood. I'm not sure what kind of "degenerate gamblers and thugs" you're picturing, but I'm pretty sure this class of people doesn't exist, and if they do, they're still gonna head out to Horseshoe or Grand Victoria.

Take a look at downtown Sydney, which has two large casinos. Both of them anchor large, high-end developments with great architecture and plenty of property value to go around, lol. Downtown Melbourne is the same thing. I have every reason to think Bally's in Chicago will turn out the same way if it is built as shown.

• This will NOT improve property values, every study shows this. A couple local businesses will have increased revenue though, of course..
• As noted, the thugs will be similar to those that loiter and harass people all day between the 7-11's on State (between Snickers & Rossi's basically)
• There's likely been more shootings in Chicago on an average weekend than in a decade in Sydney or Melbourne, crime here is exponentially higher (cannot compare).

[Ricochet48]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Seriously, please leave it you feel that way. Property values will not decrease, roving gangs of murderous thugs aren't going to magically appear. If you're still scared, move.

Aaron (Glowrock)

Property values decrease. There's tons of studies on this...

It will undoubtedly attract poors that are much more likely to have gambling problems (once again plenty of research on this), which leads to crime. As noted similar to the commenter at the last meeting, the casino itself will have solid security, it's the immediate area when clowns get kicked out at 5am that's the issue (and we are down 1K or so cops already).

It seems you live in West Avondale. My block is full of 50 story buildings, is there even a 5 story one in your hood? It's basically the suburbs to me with higher taxes paying for shittier schools. Not trying to be a jerk, but life in River North is extremely different. Hence, why I've asked if anyone on here actually lives there...

[Ricochet48]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

RNRA might get angry? Don’t threaten the rest of the city with a good time.

The consequences of NIMBYing over every boring-ass condo proposal is that everybody else stops taking them seriously when a more impactful project comes along.

If casinos truly lowered property values in the middle of the city like that, then it would be imperative to avoid building one in the 78, lest the full project never get built.

But major developers investing big money into the surrounding Tribune land parcels tells you that property values are not likely to decline except from competition.

I want a good time. I go to 50 concerts a year in the city and will definitely go to the casino. I just think the other sites make much more sense.

For the third time, property values do decrease though. Just Google it.

[thegoatman]

Is it possible that if this gets rejected, the other 2 options could come into play? Just a thought in my mind.

[gandalf612]

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

It will undoubtedly attract poors , which leads to crime.

Just WOW

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Property values decrease. There's tons of studies on this...

It will undoubtedly attract poors that are much more likely to have gambling problems (once again plenty of research on this), which leads to crime. As noted similar to the commenter at the last meeting, the casino itself will have solid security, it's the immediate area when clowns get kicked out at 5am that's the issue (and we are down 1K or so cops already).

It seems you live in West Avondale. My block is full of 50 story buildings, is there even a 5 story one in your hood? It's basically the suburbs to me with higher taxes paying for shittier schools. Not trying to be a jerk, but life in River North is extremely different. Hence, why I've asked if anyone on here actually lives there...

Wow. So much dishonesty. So much classism. Extreme levels of stupidity. Good amount of hidden racism thrown in for fun. Absolutely pathetic.

Aaron (Glowrock)