The stumbling start for Chicago’s temporary casino prompted an influential City Council member to warn Thursday that the city may be stuck with the gambling den at Medinah Temple indefinitely.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), chairman of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, said Bally’s was undercapitalized to begin with, and he fears the company will run out of money to build the $1.7 billion permanent casino in River West.
Last year, Hopkins and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) opposed Bally’s plan for both the temporary and permanent casinos.
At the time, Hopkins urged his colleagues not to roll the dice with an undercapitalized Bally’s team with no track record of running a big-city casino, let alone building a massive project.
