A Korean American businessman has opened the first casino in the Chicago area.
Bally’s, a large casino resort business led by Chairman Soohyung Kim (48), opened a temporary casino at the Medina Temple near Wabash Avenue and Ohio Street in the Chicago area on October 3, the Chicago Sun-Times and other local media reported.
The temporary casino opened for business starting September 9 and currently features more than 750 slot machines and 56 table games.
It is the first casino in the Chicago area. Kim won the right to operate the project in May 2022.
Bally’s plans to invest a total of $1.74 billion to build a mega entertainment resort with 500 rooms, a live performance venue, 3,400 slot machines and 173 table games.
The mega-resort will be built on the site of the Tribune Printing Plant in the River North area. Bally’s is targeting a 2026 opening. Bally’s expects the resort to generate $800 million in annual revenue once it is completed and open for business.
“We’re looking for a different customer base than a typical casino,” Kim said at the opening, noting that there are many young people in the city who enjoy playing casino games.
The city of Chicago is hoping to revitalize the local economy with the casino, which is expected to generate $50 million in tax revenue annually.
The opening ceremony was attended by a number of local political and business leaders, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
“The tax revenue from the casino will go to support our police and firefighters,” Johnson said. “This resort will be more than just an entertainment venue, it will make Chicago a stronger, more vibrant city.”
Bally’s currently operates 14 casino properties in 10 states across the country. Kim is a 1.5 generation Korean American who graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and studied public policy at Princeton University. He is also widely recognized as a hedge fund investor.
Kim’s mega-casino resort has been met with opposition from local residents since before it was licensed. Illinois first allowed a casino in Chicago in 2011 to boost tax revenue and pushed for gambling deregulation legislation, but it was repeatedly delayed by local oppositions.
Eventually, the state of Illinois passed the legislation in 2019, and Kim won the casino concession through a public tender.
Meanwhile, Kim founded hedge fund manager Standard General in 2007. In 2020, he acquired Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and bought the Bally’s brand in October of the same year, drawing attention from the industry.
BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
