RIVER NORTH — Bally’s temporary casino in River North has been operating two hourly shuttles from Chinatown unbeknownst to local leaders for the past two months, reviving long-held concerns about local casinos targeting communities with a history of problem gambling.
Bally’s temporary casino opened in September at Medinah Temple, 600 N. Wabash Ave., over the opposition of local Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and many Downtown residents. It has nearly 800 slot machines and 56 gaming tables, plus two restaurants and a coffee shop.
The casino initially operated 8 a.m.-4 a.m. seven days a week, and was welcomed with a line down the block for its grand opening. But attendance has lulled, and the casino is shifting to 24-hour operations next week.
In late October, as revenue and attendance remained flat, Bally’s quietly added two hourly shuttle bus locations in Chinatown. The bus schedule is posted online, but local leaders told Block Club they did not know shuttle service was happening.
Chinatown is the only location for the shuttles, according to the Bally’s website.
Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), whose ward includes Chinatown, told Block Club she found out about the shuttles last week. She wants more information in addition to a meeting between Bally’s and community leaders.
“As I expressed during the bid process, it is important that the revenue from the casino remains within the city, and my preliminary conversations with Bally’s management is that these courtesy shuttles are meant to serve this end. While I recognize the service’s intent, I’ve expressed safety concerns for patrons, especially upon their return from the casino,” Lee said in a statement.
“I’ve also voiced concern regarding the problem of gambling addiction, it being the foremost concern voiced by the Chinatown community during discussions about building a casino in the city. I look forward to hosting a meeting between Bally’s and community leaders at the start of next year to establish an open line of communication and ensure our concerns are addressed,” Lee continued.
Grace Chan McKibben, executive director of Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, told Block Club several residents told her they’d asked for the shuttles.
The coalition was created in 1998 in response to the increase of casino shuttle buses perusing Chinatown and bringing residents to Indiana.
“I had not heard about the buses before, but after asking around, I learned from residents in the community that Bally’s has been running buses for months because residents from Chinatown requested it, saying that it is hard to park there,” Chan McKibben said.
Bally’s officials did not confirm how the shuttles came to be, but said in a statement the service has gotten positive feedback.
“Bally’s Shuttle is available to our customers and employees creating better access to the casino,” Mark Wong, Bally’s Chicago vice president and general manager, said in a statement. “We are receiving positive feedback from our customers and the community and plan on expanding additional routes to the north and west of the city due to demand.”
‘I Would Have Spoken Out Sooner’
Bally’s operators made several compromises when opening the temporary casino, including eliminating valet service to prevent additional traffic congestion, which has been a concern for neighbors. At several community meetings before opening, Bally’s officials emphasized they were not contracting with any shuttle services.
That has changed as revenue and the number of visitors have fallen short of expectations.
Bally’s has generated about $2.2 million in local tax revenue for the city of Chicago during its first three months in business.
That’s far from the $12.8 million projection of gaming tax revenue for 2023 set by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot before she left office.
Overall, Bally’s ranks fourth in revenue among Illinois’ 15 casinos, according to data from the Illinois Gaming Board website.
An average of about 2,681 people visited the casino daily in October, the Sun-Times reported. In its first weeks, an average of 3,347 people visited, according to the Sun-Times.
More than 3,000 more people visited the casino in November, the month after the Chinatown shuttle service launched, the Tribune reported.
Chinatown leaders raised the alarm about a Chicago casino when state legislators passed a gambling expansion bill in 2019 that opened six new gaming licenses in the state, including the one eventually granted to Bally’s.
Chan McKibben said the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community held two community conversations in 2019 about the impacts of a casino on the community.
Advocates told WBEZ at the time they worried about casinos’ history of “buses at every single corner, seven days a week, almost 24 hours a day” in Chinatown, casino patrons being targeted in robberies and problem gambling among low-income people.
Advocates amplified those concerns when five potential sites were unveiled in November 2021. Four of them were on the Near South Side, near Chinatown.
Rep. Theresa Mah, whose Illinois House district includes Chinatown, told Block Club she also wasn’t aware Bally’s added shuttle services to and from the neighborhood.
Mah strongly opposed the Rivers 78 Casino proposal, one of three finalists in 2022. Located near Chinatown, Mah was adamant that Rivers 78 should not be chosen because the Chinese American community was “particularly vulnerable” given its extensive history with problem gaming.
Mah said Thursday she was concerned and disappointed to learn the only two shuttle routes to Bally’s at Medinah Temple were originating from Chinatown.
“I don’t think that they should be trying to make up for their shortfalls by targeting vulnerable communities,” Mah said.
Chan McKibben and other community groups also successfully advocated against the Rivers 78 Casino. When Bally’s won the bid 2022, the coalition worked with the River North Residents Association to make sure onsite gambling addiction services would be provided.
Currently, Bally’s provides written material onsite about problem gambling.
“Folks that don’t have a lot of resources think they can win one game of chance … and they usually don’t,” Chan McKibben said.
David Wu, executive director of Chinatown’s Pui Tak Center, said in attending several community meetings he asked Bally’s executives to not prey on the Asian community.
“Gambling is a legal activity, but it targets [immigrant] communities with low income,” Wu said.
Wu was surprised the buses have been operating unbeknownst to local leaders for so long: “I would have spoken out sooner,” he said.
Impacts On Neighborhood Traffic
The addition of shuttle services and the impending inclusion of valet has caught the attention of the River North Residents Association, which has opposed a Chicago casino since its inception.
Since the casino was approved last year by City Council, the group has shifted its focus to making the situation more bearable for neighbors.
Brian Israel, director emeritus of the River North Residents Association, said the group is concerned about how shuttles and valet will impact traffic in the already congested area. He also said he was concerned about the shuttles coming from Chinatown.
“The original plan was that any kind of bus services would have to use remote staging areas and so forth to not interfere too much with traffic in the area,” Israel said.
Israel told Block Club that impact on traffic has been “pretty nominal” so far since casino attendance has been “underwhelming.”
A 2022 traffic study of Medinah Temple, commissioned by Bally’s and conducted by Fish Transportation, estimated that during peak hours about four cars arrive each minute as another four cars leave.
The results of the study included the use of valet parking. An estimated 60 percent of patrons arriving by car will either park or valet, the study showed.
The study also estimated Medinah Temple would generate 462 trips during the weekday commuter peak hours of 4-6 p.m. and 516 trips during the Friday evening casino peak hours of 8-11 p.m.
The study drew backlash from neighborhood groups and Reilly, who called it “flawed” and pressed for an independent analysis that never happened.
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