<p>On Thursday, Bally’s Corp received a work stoppage order from the Illinois Gaming Board for its $1.7 billion permanent Chicago casino due to the company’s employment of an unauthorized contractor with past links to organised crime.</p>
<p>Journalists from the <a href=”https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/05/01/ballys-casino-license-illinois-gaming-board-reputed-mob-rosemont-difronzo” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Chicago Sun-Times</a> alerted the IGB about the presence of dumpsters from D&P Construction at the Bally’s site. D&P previously had connections to John and Peter DiFronzo, who were suspected of being heavily involved with the Chicago mafia. Both men have since deceased, but Peter’s widow was once listed as an owner of the company, according to the Sun-Times.</p>
<p>In response to this revelation, the IGB immediately put a halt to the construction work and issued the following statement: </p>
<p>“The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) commanded a cease and desist order on the construction of the Bally’s Chicago permanent casino due to an ongoing IGB investigation regarding the use of undisclosed and unapproved vendors at the construction site… It was recently discovered by IGB staff that D&P was involved in waste removal services at the permanent casino construction site. However, D&P was not disclosed to the IGB and it did not receive IGB approval.”</p>
<p>This finding “leads to several serious concerns”, said the board, and is currently being investigated.</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>BREAKING: The Chicago Sun-Times has discovered that dumpsters for the Bally’s work site are being provided by D&P Construction Co., Inc. Two decades ago, the company’s involvement in a casino construction raised concerns about potential influence from organized crime.<a href=”https://t.co/xitWm57Bx1″>https://t.co/xitWm57Bx1</a></p>— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Suntimes/status/1918089366494171264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 1, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-no-margin-for-error”>Zero tolerance for mistakes</h2>
<p>In reaction to this, Bally’s declared that it was “notified by the IGB about the use of an unapproved vendor by the contractors working on the Bally’s Chicago site, which led to the issuance of a work stoppage notice.” The company affirmed it was “collaborating with the IGB to prevent this from reoccurring.”</p>
<p>Company spokesperson Lauren Westerfield also informed the Sun-Times that the company is developing a new plan to scrutinize subcontractors. Construction can recommence once the plan is approved by the IGB.</p>
<p>If the investigation results in a significant work stoppage, it could present considerable obstacles for Bally’s. As per state law, the casino must be operational by September 2026. This timeline was already ambitious for a project still in its early phases, even without the stoppage.</p>
<p>This investigation is the most recent setback for the project, which has been in progress for several years. Other obstacles included a considerable redesign after initial plans were rejected due to interference with city water lines, and a substantial funding shortfall, which was eventually covered by a <a href=”https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/ballys-new-chicago-casino/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>$940 million agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties</a>. The project was also suspended for about three weeks in December and January due to debris falling into the nearby Chicago River.</p>
<p>Since September 2023, Bally’s has been running a temporary casino in the city, which has brought in $29 million in revenue this year. The casino has contributed $3 million in city tax revenue during that period, which is less than the city’s $16.5 million forecast for 2025.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-d-amp-p-involved-in-rosemont-scandal”>D&P’s involvement in the Rosemont scandal</h2>
<p>The scenario of the contracting violation and work stoppage could have been different if D&P were not implicated. However, the IGB has past dealings with the company, as D&P was also associated with a previous casino scandal.</p>
<p>In 2001, during the construction of the Emerald Casino in the village of Rosemont, the IGB alleged in a complaint that “Josephine DiFronzo, the owner of D&P, is the wife of Peter DiFronzo and sister-in-law of John DiFronzo, both of whom are recognized members of organized crime. Emerald’s lack of appropriate supervision resulted in D&P performing work at the site.â€</p>
<p>A 2005 FBI memo claimed that D&P “secured contracts through illicit payoffs or intimidation,” according to the Sun-Times. The Rosemont license was ultimately revoked and awarded to neighboring Des Plaines, the current location of Rivers Casino. At the time, Chicago was not a contender for the license.</p>
<p>For several years, Rivers has been the most successful casino in the state, generating over $2 billion in revenue in the past five years.</p>
