Bally's seeks up to 1 more year to finish building permanent Chicago casino
Bally's Chicago might not open its $1.7 billion permanent casino in the River West neighborhood in September as planned, and is seeking state permission to keep its temporary facility at Medinah Temple open up to as late as September 2027.
The company's license to operate the temporary casino is set to expire this September, but acknowledged construction of the permanent casino might not be completed by then.
Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), whose district includes the temporary casino, has filed legislation that would allow the Illinois Gaming Board to provide a six-month extension of Bally's license for the Medinah Temple casino, followed by two additional optional three-month extensions.
Bally's officials said it's possible those extensions won't be necessary, but the measure would give them the necessary leeway to complete the permanent casino if construction is delayed beyond September.
"Bally's Chicago remains fully committed to the construction of its permanent casino and entertainment destination and will continue operating at Medinah Temple in accordance with all regulatory requirements during the extension period. The adjusted timeline allows for Bally's Chicago to operate the temporary casino inside of Medinah Temple through September 2027, if needed," Bally's said in a statement.
Bally's agreement with the city of Chicago requires it to open the permanent casino by September 2026, but allows the city to grant up to eight months of extensions. If construction is delayed further than that, the two sides would have to negotiate changes to the agreement.
Construction on the permanent casino began in August 2024, but work on the casino has been delayed at least twice.
In May 2025, work was halted for two weeks after the Illinois Gaming Board issued a stop work order over an unauthorized waste hauler with alleged ties to organized crime. Work was allowed to resume after state regulators confirmed only approved vendors were working on the project.
Work also was halted for several days in December 2024, after a wall collapsed during demolition of the old Chicago Tribune printing plant on the casino site, and debris spilled into the Chicago River.