Chicago casino: Bally’s faces scrutiny for Rhode Island operations – Crain’s Chicago Business

I have serious concerns about the management at Twin Rivers and their ability to run their business, Raimondo said in one local media report, when asked about a dispute over whether Bally's improperly exceeded debt limits and whether her administration improperly tried to keep it from bidding on a state lottery contract.

I am so disappointed, she said in another account. What they did in breaching the regulatory agreement with the state is very serious.

Neither Ballys nor Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who selected the company to build Chicagos casino on the River West site of the Chicago Tribune's printing plant, had any immediate response.

Hopkins voted against ratifying Lightfoots choice of Ballys, and in his letter he urged the Gaming Board to take its time in reviewing plans for the permanent casino at the Tribune's Freedom Center location and a temporary facility at Medinah Temple in River North. (See Hopkins' letter below.)

The more I learn about Ballys Corp. and its gaming operations, the more concerns I have about its capacity to deliver under the terms of this agreement, wrote Hopkins, who is considering running for mayor against Lightfoot. I urge your organization to take as much time as required to investigate the applicant thoroughly. . . .While Ballys is exerting pressure to open its temporary casino by June 2023, the licensing review process must not be rushed.

As did an anti-gambling group in a previous letter to the board, Hopkins in his letter noted that Bally's derives revenue from jurisdictions in which it does not have a gaming license. He also noted a recent downgrade of company debt by Fitch Ratings, as well as decline in available company cash.

The new element is the dispute in Rhode Island, which led to a series of charges and countercharges in 2019.

According to local media accounts, Ballys agreed to pay the state $180,000 and invest as much as $36 million in capital improvements after the state accused it of exceeding debt limits with a shareholder dividend plan. But the company has alleged that the state made a big issue of the debt matter only after it moved to bid on a huge lottery contract that Raimondo wanted to go to another company.

The head of Twin Rivers' casino operations specifically charged that the governors chief of staff threatened consequences if the company did not back off the lottery matter. Raimondo has denied that.

None of this appeared to come out in Chicago City Council's review and approval of the Ballys bid, which foes said had been rushed through. Its not clear how much this will matter to the Illinois Gaming Board, given that Ballys already has a license to operate a casino in the Quad Cities area.

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Chicago casino: Bally's faces scrutiny for Rhode Island operations - Crain's Chicago Business