Bally’s Casino

Bally's temporary casino at Medinah Temple opens 8 a.m. Saturday, featuring 750 slot machines, 55 table games, two restaurants and a cafe.

Bally's temporary casino at Medinah Temple could open as early as Saturday. First, it has to pass a dry run with state officials and pre-selected guests this week.

LOOK INSIDE: The casino operator is still waiting for its gaming license, but they plan to open the River North gaming hall by the end of the summer.

More than 100 students have completed eight weeks of training for games like blackjack, craps and baccarat. The company will continue lessons through its in-house dealer school until the temporary casino at Medinah Temple opens.

Hourly pay starts at $9.50 an hour excluding tips, which can be an additional $25-$45 an hour, officials said.

The approval of supplier licenses is a first step to getting the temporary casino up and running, but the gaming license Bally's needs hasn't been approved yet.

Bally’s still requires licensing approval from the Illinois Gaming Board to operate the casino along the river between Grand and Chicago avenues.

The Bally's-operated casino still needs approval from the Illinois Gaming Board to operate.

In addition to more green space, updated plans now include more parking and a dog park. A traffic study on the area is set to be released soon.

Bally's plans to open a temporary casino in River North while it builds a permanent casino on the Chicago River's North Branch.

The committee comes after neighbors slammed the process under which the $1.7 billion casino was approved and as neighbors push to help shape the casino campus.

Bally's officials said they'd consider the group's push for a park as negotiations continue. "I like to go to concerts but not across the street from my house,” one River North leader said.

Medinah Temple, a landmark, won't see changes to its exterior if it hosts the temporary casino — but its three-story interior will be renovated, officials said.

Fulton Market-based Shapack Partners has hatched a plan to redevelop the site after buying the Salvation Army campus for $25 million.

The money, which was a major factor in making Bally's the frontrunner among three finalists, will support the city's pension costs.

After a heated vote, the $1.7 billion casino planned for the Tribune Publishing site now goes to the state's gaming board for final approval. Here's what it will look like.

The key vote came just weeks after Lightfoot announced Bally's was her top pick. The full City Council will vote on the controversial plan Wednesday.

Alderpeople must "do some studying this weekend" after last-minute updates. A vote is planned Monday, sending the proposal to the full City Council on Wednesday.

Residents said Thursday's town hall read like the riverfront Bally's casino is a "done deal." “We are connected to you — or we will be connected to you if we are successful,” Bally's Chairman Soo Kim said.