Any definitive verdict on the new Chicago gambling emporium, Bally’s Chicago, is premature. The operation is still in its temporary home at the Medinah Temple in River North, its revenue performance extends back just four months, and, as anyone who has visited the new casino can see, the operation is still finding its feet.

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But if the city of Chicago were playing blackjack to buoy its underwater fire and police pension funds, it would be well advised to insure its hand.

Old revenue projections are looking like progressive jackpots that don’t often hit. And Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budgeted $35 million in 2024 local tax revenue now looks aspirational at best.