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For months, casino industry veteran Peter Carlino pondered whether to back the massive gambling resort Bally’s Corp. had won approval to build in downtown Chicago.

Carlino, chief executive officer of Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc., liked the idea of financing the only casino in America’s third-largest city, but he had issues with the design. So he dispatched one of his staffers to engage with Bally’s on a top-to-bottom rethink of the property.

The strategy worked. In July, Bally’s announced that Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based Gaming & Leisure will fund two-thirds of the project’s $1.8 billion cost, allowing the casino operator to stick with a planned opening in September 2026.