Chicago Tribune Freedom Center property, right, along Chicago Avenue between the Chicago River and Halsted Street, on March 22, 2022.
Bally's CEO Soo Kim listens May 5, 2022, during a news conference announcing Bally's Casino in River West is the pick for Chicago's gambling complex. Standard General bought into the predecessor casino company, Twin River, after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2011. Kim joined the board in 2016 and became chairman in late 2019 as the hedge fund built up a 22% stake. A January bid by Standard General to buy out the other shareholders at $38 per share, which valued Bally’s at $2.07 billion, was rejected by a special committee of the board Thursday.
Bally’s reported $548.3 million in revenue and a net income of $1.9 million during the first quarter, according to financial results announced Thursday. The company projected revenue between $2.4 billion and $2.5 billion for the year.In 2021, Bally’s generated $1.32 billion in revenue and a net loss of nearly $72 million.
Chris Grove, a partner with Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a California-based research and consulting firm, said the potential market in Chicago justified the city’s revenue projections. But Grove, a River North resident, likewise cautioned that the Bally’s location may limit the upside. At the city’s urging, Bally’s signed a letter of intent to use the landmark Medinah Temple building in River North as its temporary casino. Kim said Friday he would prefer the Chicago Avenue site and was “not crazy” about switching to Medinah Temple. Bally’s will continue to look for alternatives for its temporary casino, he said.
“I don’t know that a trip out to Des Plaines or a trip over to Hammond is really in the itinerary of someone coming to Chicago for a weekend or coming in for a convention for a couple of days,” Grove said. “But you put a casino in the city, and all of a sudden that becomes a lot easier to make.” Bally's CEO Soo Kim, right, arrives May 5, 2022, for the announcement that Bally's Casino in River West is the pick for Chicago's gambling complex.
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