As A’s prep for ceremonial groundbreaking, Bally’s plan for nearby resort questioned by analyst
Construction will soon commence on a Strip baseball field, but plans for Bally’s adjacent casino project seem to be in limbo. A gaming analyst talked with the landowner about the project.
Bally’s Corp. has yet to update development plans for a planned casino resort surrounding the $1.75 billion baseball stadium on the Strip since revealing initial ideas eight months ago.
The casino operator has its hands full with multiple projects in the U.S. and internationally, which led Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas to note Bally’s lack of progress on the resort portion of the site, which is owned by mega-landlord Gaming and Leisure Properties, a real estate investment trust that leases the land to Bally’s.
“We see limited risks for [Gaming and Leisure Properties] at the Tropicana site,” Jonas wrote in a research note following his discussion with company leadership last week at a National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts event in New York.
He noted Gaming and Leisure contributed $175 million toward the stadium project, primarily for the demolition of the Tropicana, and the company could make that money back if Bally’s sells its development rights to another party.
Bally’s pays the real estate investment trust $10.5 million annually to lease the 35-acre south Strip site and the casino company is providing 9 acres to the former Oakland Athletics for the team to develop a Major League Baseball stadium.
However, Bally’s attention has recently swayed from Las Vegas.
The company is one of several casino operators bidding on a New York City project that it wants to build near a golf course it owns in the Bronx. The facility was once operated by President Donald Trump’s company.
Additionally, Bally’s development of a $1.7 billion downtown Chicago resort has run into issues, while the company is spending $180 million to acquire Star Entertainment in Australia.
Meanwhile, site work in preparation for stadium construction is taking place at the corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue, and the A’s will host a ceremonial groundbreaking June 23 for the 33,000-fan capacity ballpark. The team is playing its home games at a minor league stadium in Sacramento, with the move to Las Vegas expected ahead of the 2028 season.
Bally’s operates 11 casinos in eight states on Gaming and Leisure-owned sites, including the former Tropicana location, from which the company has seen zero revenue since closing the Rat Pack era resort more than a year ago. Bally’s pays the real estate investment trust $157.6 million annually to lease all 11 locations.
Jonas wrote that some of Gaming and Leisure’s recent stock fluctuations are because of Bally’s multiple projects. However, he said company executives told him that Bally’s leases are “well covered.”
Last October, Gaming and Leisure President Brandon Moore told The Nevada Independent that the real estate investment trust would not provide any additional financing toward the stadium beyond the $175 million. Team owner John Fisher is covering the bulk of the stadium costs with $1.1 billion, while U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs are loaning the team $300 million. The state approved $350 million in public financing in 2023 for the stadium. Fisher is still seeking financing from other outside investors.
Jonas hinted that another casino operator could force Bally’s exit from Chicago, given the project’s numerous delays. GLPI acquired the site last year and entered a sale-leaseback with Bally’s, but the company didn't provide Jonas with an update.
“We think the development remains behind schedule,” he wrote.
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim spoke briefly about the company’s plans for the site at the Oct. 9 implosion of the Tropicana. He said the developers needed to consider that 13,000 hotel rooms — primarily controlled by MGM Resorts International — are in proximity to the ballpark.
A week later, Bally’s released plans showing multiple attractions surrounding the stadium, including three hotel towers, a 90,000-square-foot casino, 110,000 square feet of meeting space, numerous restaurants and retail outlets and a day club behind the outfield.
The initial hotel tower would have 1,500 rooms — the same number as the now-demolished Tropicana.
“That's pretty decent-sized. The question is, what's the scale of the first phase?” Kim asked in October.
Details expected about the $6.2B IGT-Everi merger and buyout
Nearly a year after hedge fund giant Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire gaming equipment providers International Game Technology (IGT) and Everi Holdings in a $6.3 billion deal, Nevada’s two gaming regulatory panels will consider the merger in separate hearings this month.
One question that could be answered on Wednesday in Las Vegas: What happens to the IGT brand?
Apollo will acquire IGT’s slot machine, sports betting and digital gaming operations for $4.05 billion in cash. Simultaneously, Apollo is purchasing the outstanding stock in Everi. The merged company will be taken private and is expected to be headquartered in Las Vegas.
In December, Apollo announced a management team headed by former Aristocrat Gaming CEO Hector Fernandez who would oversee the enterprise. Fernandez resigned from a rival slot maker and allowed a contractual non-compete clause to expire before he becomes CEO of the combined businesses.
IGT’s worldwide lottery operations will remain headquartered in Rome and London and continue to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Several gaming insiders with knowledge of the merger expect the international lottery division to take another name and stock symbol, allowing the IGT franchise to return to Nevada.
The company, founded in Nevada in 1979 by the late Si Redd, brought historic change to the slot machine industry while headquartered in Reno.
IGT is credited with the expansion of video poker and introduced innovations, such as computer-driven slot machine reels and “Megabucks,” the first wide-area progressive jackpots. IGT created “Wheel of Fortune,” the slot machine based on the popular television game show that has been a staple in casinos worldwide for close to three decades.
Since its 2015 merger with lottery giant GTECH, IGT has maintained a manufacturing facility in Reno and a sales and marketing office in Las Vegas. Everi is headquartered in Las Vegas.
Originally, Everi planned to buy IGT’s slot machine, sports betting and digital division, and merge them into its business, which includes gaming equipment and financial transaction services, and relaunch the merged company as IGT. More than four months later, Apollo came up with a more lucrative deal.
In 2022, Apollo paid $2.25 billion to acquire the operations of The Venetian, Palazzo and Venetian Expo as part of a $6.25 billion purchase from Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Wynn expects the opening of its London casino to energize its UAE resort
Wynn Resorts is viewing its recent acquisition of a small, high-end casino in London as a way to boost its European customer base ahead of the 2027 opening of its $5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island in the United Arab Emirates.
In a February interview with Inside Asian Gaming, Wynn CEO Craig Billings said the company views its London casino as “an extension of the Al Marjan casino floor.” He said many of the company’s potential customers spend time in the United Kingdom.
Billings told the publication that once Wynn Al Marjan opens “95 percent of the world’s population will be within an eight-hour flight of a Wynn property.”
Wynn completed the acquisition last week of the former Crown London from Australia’s Crown Resorts by the United Kingdom Gaming Commission. A purchase price was not disclosed.
The company said in a statement that the property was renamed Wynn Mayfair, given its location in the Mayfair District, and will offer 20 table games along with other high-end amenities, including a restaurant, bar and entertainment options.
What I'm reading
🎰 Alberta resumes buying U.S. alcohol and gambling machines, months after pause meant to fight tariffs — Canadian Press
Maybe Canada’s gaming delegation won’t boycott October’s Global Gaming Expo.
🚭 Smoke-free casinos? Some shareholders want to study financial impacts — Tyler Schneider, Las Vegas Weekly
Park MGM remains the Strip’s only non-smoking casino. But public opinion could be trending in favor of eliminating smoking.
News, notes and quotes
💸 Fertitta is not scheduled to discuss Wynn stock purchase
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta will not physically or virtually attend Wednesday's Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting. The U.S. ambassador to Italy is dealing with other matters. Gaming regulators need to approve Fertitta’s ownership stake in Wynn Resorts, which has grown to more than 12.6 percent in the last two years, making him the casino operator’s largest shareholder. Fertitta, who has been described as a passive investor in the company, stepped down from his duties as CEO of Fertitta Entertainment (which owns the Golden Nugget) after being appointed to the four-year ambassadorship. It’s expected that Fertitta General Counsel Steven Scheinthal will represent Fertitta.
☑️ M Resort operator Penn Entertainment faces a proxy vote
Penn Entertainment, the operator of M Resort in Henderson, is facing a proxy fight headed by hedge fund HG Vora Capital Management, which is pushing three candidates for the company’s board. Penn’s annual shareholder meeting is on Tuesday, which could determine the future of the company’s management. HG Vora said its trio of nominees would bring gaming industry expertise and accountability to the board. The 390-room M Resort in Henderson will double in size through a $206 million expansion that is expected to be completed this year.