A gleaming new casino is poised to attract gamblers from across the Chicago area and northwest Indiana, with a sprawling gaming floor and upscale dining options that’ll make it one of Illinois’ biggest draws and most lucrative tax revenue generators, officials say.It’s not the Chicago casino — it’s another new gambling mecca a half-hour’s drive south, set to open within days.Leaders of the Wind Creek Chicago Southland gave reporters a first look Thursday at the East Hazel Crest casino that’s awaiting state regulatory approval to start welcoming gamblers as soon as this week.The $529 million, 1,400-slot emporium will mark the sixth and final new casino added to the state’s glut of gambling options, part of a 2019 expansion that also introduced sports betting and thousands more slot machines in bars and restaurants.The Chicago casino is expected to eventually become the biggest cash cow from that legislation, which helps fund Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature $45 billion infrastructure improvement plan.But until Bally’s scales up from its temporary River North operation to a permanent complex expected to open in 2026 at 777 W. Chicago Ave., the south suburban casino could end up taking a bigger piece of the region’s carved-up gambling pie.“We aspire to be No. 2 in the state,” general manager Roger Kuehn said during a stroll across the Wind Creek gaming floor, which also has 56 table games and a poker room. The Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino, 17300 S. Halsted St. in East Hazel Crest, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Mitchell Armentrout/Sun-Times They’ll be chasing Rivers Casino in Des Plaines — the state’s perennial top-grossing house of chance — and not the Chicago casino, Kuehn said. “I don't see them as being our primary competitor. They’re for people who are staying downtown and live in that proximity.”Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has lowered his tax revenue expectations for Bally’s in his latest budget proposal, which projects the casino to generate $16.5 million for the city’s police and firefighter pension funds next year.That’s less than half the $35 million jackpot Johnson’s budget team estimated this year, which is on pace to end with around $15 million for the city. "We now have 12 months of actual revenue from the temporary casino’s operations and have adjusted our FY2025 expectations accordingly," a city spokesperson said in an email. Related Bally’s Chicago casino enters 2nd year on the rise, but behind projections in loaded Illinois market Though it has fallen far short of projections set by Johnson and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, “Bally’s has delivered more than $62 million in revenue to Chicago through a $40 million upfront fee, $8 million in annual fees and more than $14 million in local taxes,” according to Chris Jewett, the company’s senior vice president for corporate development.“Meanwhile, our $1.8 billion casino and hotel development is one of the largest investments ever made in Chicago, which will create 3,000 construction jobs and 3,000 casino jobs once we open in the fall of 2026,” Jewett said in a statement.The city is aiming for a cut of up to $200 million per year when the permanent Bally’s casino is established. The latest permanent Bally’s casino design, as viewed from the north at 777 W. Chicago Ave.Provided by HKS Other new casinos have seen major windfalls in the transition from temporary to permanent facilities, such as the Hard Rock Casino Rockford, which jumped from the middle of Illinois’ 15-casino pack up to No. 2 in September, its first full month of operation, Illinois Gaming Board records show. Bally’s was No. 3.Wind Creek skipped a temporary casino, breaking ground in May 2022 at 17300 S. Halsted St., just off Interstate 294 and a few miles from the Indiana border.“We've heard for years about the Illinois cars going across the border to gamble. This sits right there,” said state Rep. Bob Rita, the Blue Island Democrat who shepherded the 2019 gaming legislation in Springfield. Kuehn brushed aside concerns of oversaturating a gaming market that already has more places to bet than Las Vegas.“I don't think the IGB would have issued more licenses if they felt that was an issue,” he said. “I think at some point you have to fear that, but when we look at ourselves, we're not just a gambling destination. When we have our hotel amenity up [next year], we'll have a spa, a steakhouse, an event center. So even if you don't gamble, you can come here and have great food and have a good time.”South suburban legislators had sought a casino for decades as an economic generator for a lower income and mostly African American region long subjected to disinvestment. About 900 full-time employees are already on board, and another 300 hires are expected.“It’s something that we've wanted for a very long time, and from what I'm seeing right now, I don't think anybody could have done any better than this,” said state Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood. “Anything that we can do locally to help businesses, to help individuals, it feeds back into our local economy.”