An age-old truth, well-known by gamblers, holds that you should never chase your losses. With Bally’s Chicago Casino, the city risks doing just that.
Bally’s promised to uplift Chicago’s economy, and, perhaps most importantly, improve the city’s overall financial situation. As then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a video announcement, Chicago’s first casino was supposed to represent “a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
So far, it hasn’t. The temporary casino at Medinah Temple continues to fall far short of Lightfoot’s plan. Bally’s is underperforming, and neither the city, nor the police and firefighter’s pension funds that were supposed to be bolstered by its revenue, can afford it.
