Provided by Casino Marousi – Καζίνο Μαρούσι
https://casinomarousi.com
https://casinomarousi.gr

Block Club Chicago
Your Neighborhood News Site
RIVER WEST — Plans to build Chicago’s first permanent casino may become too big of a gamble for Mayor Brandon Johnson.
In a sweeping interview Monday with the Sun-Times editorial board, Johnson cast doubt for the first time on the massive casino project championed by his predecessor.
Bally’s, selected from a pack of bidders by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, wants to break ground at 777 W. Chicago Ave., the riverfront site of the recently vacated Chicago Tribune publishing center.
Bally’s fell millions of dollars short of projections in its first year operating a temporary casino in River North and has yet to fully fund the proposed River West casino, while the company considers a buyout offer to go private that “jeopardizes the completion of the Chicago project,” two high-profile investors wrote in a scathing April letter.
Johnson told the Sun-Times he could not definitively say if the city’s permanent casino will ultimately be built. His administration had previously credited Bally’s with making steady progress.
“I know our team is working with ownership to figure it out like we figured out some of the other things that I’ve inherited. It just has to make absolute sense,” Johnson said. “I think that one’s still to be determined, to be perfectly frank with you.”
Wall Street ratings firms have downgraded Bally’s since March, citing “development and execution risks” as the company is $800 million short to start building at the River West site, according to the Sun-Times.
Bally’s is contractually obligated to spend at least $1.34 billion under a host city agreement signed with Lightfoot, according to the Sun-Times.
In January, Bally’s was told it needed to find a new location for its 400-room hotel tower planned for the permanent site because of threats to existing city infrastructure.
The temporary casino at Medinah Temple in River North saw its highest attendance rates in December with nearly 100,000 admissions, Bally’s officials previously said. But the company has come under fire for quietly adding two hourly shuttle bus locations in Chinatown, with neighborhood leaders concerned the underperforming casino is targeting communities with a history of problem gambling.
Representatives with Bally’s did not immediately return requests for comment.
Block Club Chicago is celebrating six years of neighborhood news. We’re asking you to help us reach our goal of 600 supporters to keep us going.
As a thank-you, when you subscribe, donate, upgrade your subscription or gift a subscription during Block Club’s birthday week, we’ll send you a special coupon to pick out a free T-shirt, hat, tote or print from our merch store! Choose from over 15 of our most popular items by Chicago artists, including our lovebirds, Gator Watch and Chicago-style pizza merch.
Twitter @mack_liederman More by Mack Liederman
Block Club Chicago is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, nonpartisan and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.

source
Visit
Provided by Casino Marousi – Καζίνο Μαρούσι
https://casinomarousi.com
https://casinomarousi.gr

Contact : casinomarousi@gmail.com

Please follow and like us: