Request for Proposals

RFP Summary

The City of Chicago is pleased to share summaries of the five casino and entertainment complex bids received through its Request for Proposal process, which ran from April 22, 2021 to October 29, 2021.

An initiative three decades in the making, the Chicago casino is one of the country’s most attractive casino-resort development opportunities. A global gateway city with 9.5 million residents, Chicago welcomed 60 million domestic and 1.5 million international visitors in 2019. The selected bidder will incorporate its property into the City’s vibrant cultural scene, robust public transit infrastructure, and highly diversified economy.

Proposals

The proposals received are as follows, in alphabetical order. Note: Select proposals include development plans intended to be completed in phases.

  • Bally’s Corporation: $1.8 billion property in the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center with 500 rooms; six restaurant/cafes and a food hall; three bars and lounges; 3,000-seat, 70,000 sq. ft. entertainment venue; 20,000 sq. ft of exhibition space; outdoor/rooftop green space including bars, lounges and pools; 3,400 slots and 173 table games.
  • Bally’s Corporation: $1.6 billion property in McCormick Place Truck Marshaling with 500 rooms; six restaurant/cafes and a food hall; three bars and lounges; 3,000-seat, 70,000 sq. ft. entertainment venue; 20,000 sq. ft of exhibition space; outdoor/rooftop green space including bars, lounges and pools; 3,400 slots and 173 table games.
  • HR Chicago, LLC: $1.7 billion property from Hard Rock International at ONE Central project site with up to 500 rooms, eight restaurant/cafes and a food hall, six bars and lounges, 3,500-seat Hard Rock Live, Rock Spa, Hard Rock Music and Entertainment Experience, 3,400 slots and 166 table games.
  • Rivers Chicago at McCormick, LLC: $1.3 billion property at Lakeside Center at McCormick Place managed by Rush Street Gaming, LLC utilizing McCormick Place’s 2,900 hotel rooms with ability to add 250 or more additional rooms; 12 restaurant/cafes including a food hall; four bars and lounges in addition to full bars at seven restaurants; 4,200-seat updated Arie Crown Theater; direct covered access to McCormick Place Convention Center; dramatic lakefront setting with outdoor dining, entertainment and other lakeside programming; 2,600 slots and 190 table games.
  • Rivers 78 Gaming, LLC: $2.0 billion property managed by Rush Street Gaming, LLC in the eight-acre riverfront entertainment district at the northern end of the mixed-use 78 neighborhood with 300 rooms; eight restaurant/cafes and a food hall, five bars and lounges; Riverfront plaza; Observation Tower with indoor/outdoor viewing space; Harbor Hall multi-purpose riverfront venue for live entertainment, culture/arts and community programs with rooftop space; 2,600 slots and 190 table games.

A summary of the five responses can be downloaded below along with the executive summaries excerpted from each of the proposals:

Request for Proposals

The City’s original Request for Proposals & Supplement documents and RFP Amendments can be accessed at the links below:

Effective May 6, 2022, the City of Chicago has terminated Section 4.D (Prohibited Communications) of its Request for Proposals dated April 22, 2021, as amended (the “RFP”), for a Casino in the City of Chicago. The remainder of the RFP remains in effect.