A’s stadium is taking shape on Strip, but Bally’s casino project has been quiet for a year.
It’s been a year since the Rat Pack-era Tropicana Las Vegas was demolished in a spectacular sendoff. But it has also been nearly 12 months since Bally’s gave everyone an idea of what it will build to surround a $2 billion baseball stadium for the Athletics that is starting to take shape.
To use a baseball reference, Bally’s Corp. is at the plate taking its swings, but it’s yet to connect.
Last week’s $735 million sale and leaseback of its Rhode Island casino to real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties allows the company to pay down a portion of its almost $3.6 billion debt and focus attention on an under-construction $1.7 billion Chicago resort the company plans to open next year.
Bally’s also remains a candidate to develop one of three New York City-area casinos, a process that could be decided by year’s end.
But the company’s Chicago and New York efforts have superseded plans for a resort on the Strip that would replace the demolished Tropicana Las Vegas. The project has been on a public standstill for nearly a year. While the A’s have said the stadium will be ready by April 2028 for the start of the Major League Baseball season, Bally’s has never provided a timeline for the resort.
Bally’s released initial renderings last October showing how a resort and casino complex would surround a 33,000-fan capacity, $2 billion baseball stadium on the 35-acre site. The ballpark will have a non-retractable roof designed as five overlapping, shell-like structures.
The initial phase showed a 1,500-room hotel tower and casino surrounding the stadium. Bally’s total plan calls for 3,000 rooms, a 90,000 square-foot casino, 110,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants and retail outlets, and a day club behind the outfield.
The A’s held a ceremonial groundbreaking event at the site in June, and construction is proceeding. Clark County commissioners will discuss the A’s development agreement on Oct. 8 and could vote on its approval, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A move would lock in the stadium’s costs and could allow the A’s to begin drawing on $350 million in public financing.
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim has not spoken publicly about the company’s Tropicana replacement plans since attending the Rat Pack-era hotel’s implosion a year ago. Bally’s President George Papanier attended the A’s groundbreaking event and told The Nevada Independent the company would be updating its plans. But he declined to elaborate.
The casino operator’s public activity has been in Chicago and New York.
On Monday, Gaming and Leisure Properties, which owns the land and buildings associated with 15 Bally’s casinos in six states, released an update on Chicago, listing nearly two dozen project milestones and construction activities. The real estate investment trust paid $250 million last year to acquire the 30-acre site along the Chicago River and is investing $940 million toward the resort’s development. Bally’s annual rent to lease the site has yet to be determined.
In the first six months of 2025, Bally’s paid Gaming and Leisure $76.2 million in rent, including $5.25 million ($10.5 million annually) for the 35-acre Tropicana site. Bally’s is providing the A’s with 9 acres for the stadium.
Gaming and Leisure has contributed $175 million toward the stadium project, primarily for the demolition of the Tropicana. But not all the money was used. President Brandon Moore said last year that leftover funds could be used toward the resort.
Gaming and Leisure CEO Peter Carlino said in July the company would “determine how much, if any, additional funding we may provide to support the construction.”
So far, Gaming and Leisure hasn’t surfaced in conjunction with Bally’s efforts in New York, where it hopes to develop a $4 billion, 500,000-square-foot resort at the golf course it owns at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx. The project also includes a 500-room hotel, convention space, retail, restaurants and a 2,000-seat events center.
The project appeared dead in July when the New York City Council rejected zoning changes. A week later, New York City Mayor Eric Adams gave the project new life when he vetoed the council’s decision.
An affiliate of the Trump Organization formerly ran the golf course under a city franchise agreement. The company would receive $115 million if a casino lands on the site, which was part of a deal with Bally’s. Adams, earlier this year, saw federal wire fraud and bribery corruption charges dismissed after the U.S. Department of Justice withdrew the case against him.
New York community panel rejects Caesars’ proposed Times Square casino project
Caesars Entertainment became the latest Strip gaming company to exit the New York City casino development process.
But unlike Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Corp., which voluntarily walked away from New York earlier this year, Caesars’ $5.4 billion proposal for a Times Square casino was rejected by New York’s Community Advisory Committee despite the company’s partnerships with developer SL Green Realty Corp. and Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation. The Times Square community and nearby residents opposed the casino. Theater owners thought their shows and venues would lose business because of the potential influx of gambling customers.
“What you did here today was a despicable display of cowardice, lack of leadership, lack of consideration for all the people who would benefit from this proposal,” SL Green CEO Marc Holliday told the board after the vote.
In a statement to Bloomberg News, Caesars said it respects the decision of the advisory board and that its “commitment to New York remains unwavering.”
State lawmakers approved the development of three casino-resorts in the New York City area more than 10 years ago. But the process has been slow-going.
Gaming advisor Brendan Bussmann said Sands and Wynn were the smart companies by bailing on a process that has included “exorbitant demands to further pacify local stakeholders” and has been challenged by delays and changes.
“I’m not sure anyone actually wins in the end,” Bussmann said.
Two locations — Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens and Yonkers Raceway — are considered the leading contenders for two licenses. The sites have slot machine-only casinos with plans for expanded gaming and adding resort amenities, including hotels, dining and entertainment.
Resorts World operates Aqueduct and plans to spend $5.5 billion and Yonkers owner MGM Resorts International is planning a $2.3 billion expansion.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano told ABC News in New York the city council approved a $100 million community benefits package directed toward projects designated by the City of Yonkers, including library, park and infrastructure improvements. The mayor said the MGM project has overwhelming community support.
Three other projects remain in the running, including a location near Citi Field in Queens controlled by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen with Hard Rock International, and Bally’s project in the Bronx.
What I'm reading
👻 Primm was once an affordable casino mecca for L.A. Now it has become a ghost town — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times
One casino remains open. Southern California tribal casinos have crushed the Primm market.
💲 Why billionaires are piling into prediction markets — Alicia Park, Forbes
Thanks in part to Trumpworld connections, Kalshi is the front-runner in what could be a trillion-dollar opportunity.
💵 Cryptocurrency payments, smart table rollout across all games among technology innovations being planned at Wynn Al Marjan Island — Ben Blaschke, Inside Asian Gaming
The United Arab Emirates' lead regulator said he wants operators and suppliers to push the boundaries when developing products for the greenfield market.
News, notes and quotes
🔐 Boyd Gaming reveals that it was hacked
The casino operator said Tuesday that hackers had accessed “certain data from Boyd’s IT systems, including information about employees and a limited number of other individuals,” during a cybersecurity breach that otherwise did not affect the company’s properties or business operations. Boyd announced the breach in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Two years ago, a cyberattack knocked out operations at MGM Resorts International properties in the eight states where the company operates, including the Strip.
🎰 Former Reid staffer Ayesha Molino appointed as MGM Resorts’ chief operating officer
Ayesha Molino, whose career included six years in Washington, D.C., as the chief legal counsel to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), will become chief operating officer of MGM Resorts International in January, replacing the retiring Corey Sanders. The position is one of the company’s top executive leadership roles. Molino is currently the CEO of Aria and Vdara. MGM announced Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas President Sean Lanni will expand his oversight to include Aria, Vdara, and Park MGM.
MGM announced several other management moves, including the promotion of Gary Fritz as chief commercial officer and president of MGM Digital. Mike Neubecker was named president of Mandalay Bay and Luxor, which added to his current roles as president of MGM Grand Las Vegas, Excalibur, New York-New York, and Signature Towers. Also, MGM Resorts said Steve Zanella will serve as CEO for the company’s $10 billion integrated resort on Yumeshima Island in Osaka, Japan. The project is expected to open in 2030.