There are only so many ways to pass the time in the miserable, liminal space of an airport. You can doomscroll until your eyes twitch, nosh on a $12 bag of chips or stare into the abyss at the Nuts on Clark line. Soon, though, travelers at O’Hare and Midway airports may have a new way to kill time: depleting their life’s savings 20 bucks at a time before boarding the plane. That’s right, along with duty-free liquor and overpriced pretzels, Chicago’s airports may soon house slot machines.
On the first day of hearings on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed $16.6 billion budget, Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski revealed that Chicago is actively pursuing the installation of slot machines at O’Hare and Midway airports. According to WBEZ, a top mayoral aide confirmed that gambling behemoth Bally’s has even scoped out a slot machine site at Midway Airport.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th)—chair of the City Council’s Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development and a longtime champion of the ordinance that would welcome video gaming terminals to sites throughout the city—told the Chicago Sun-Times that airports present the city with a “captive audience” for video gambling. Villegas and his fellow gambling proponents are advocating for exclusive lounge areas stocked with slot machines. Only travelers 21 and older could access these parlors, which would be supervised at all times by an employee aged 21 or over. The miniature casinos would also offer food and drinks for purchase.
The decision to move forward with airport gambling terminals is a surprising one: In August, senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee vehemently objected to the idea, citing fears that O’Hare and Midway would morph into a bleak caricature of Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport, which houses over 1,300 slot machines across its three terminals. Slot skeptics also remain unconvinced that airport gambling terminals could make a sizable impact on Chicago's current $1.2 billion deficit.
Further upping the ante: At the same city council meeting, Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) also introduced an ordinance that would broaden access to video gambling terminals throughout the city, allowing restaurants, hotels and more to install on-premise video gambling terminals—given appropriate licensing.
If all goes according to plan, travelers could soon try their luck before takeoff. And in true Chicago fashion—win or lose—someone somewhere will surely be collecting the tax.