CHICAGO — When Mayor Lori Lightfoot named Bally’s the winner of a yearlong vetting process Thursday, it ended an intense competition that saw five proposals from four development teams narrowed down to one Chicago casino.
The Bally’s proposal to build a $1.74 billion casino complex in River West is expected to generate $200 million in annual tax revenue for the city, transform a 30-acre industrial site into a bustling entertainment destination and send the Chicago Tribune printing plant packing from its longtime home along the Chicago River.
For Soo Kim, the 47-year-old chairman of Bally’s and founding partner of New York hedge fund Standard General, the casino company’s largest shareholder, staking turf in Chicago will be no less transformative.
