Bally's Corporation
Formerly
  • BLB Investors (2004–2011)
  • Twin River Worldwide Holdings (2011–2020)
NYSE: BALY
Russell Microcap Index component
IndustryGambling, Entertainment
PredecessorBally Manufacturing (via brand acquisition)
Founded2004 (2004)
Headquarters
Providence, Rhode Island[1]
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Soo Kim (Chairman)
  • Robeson Reeves (CEO)
Revenue$372.8 million[2] (2020)
$−5.5 million[2] (2020)
Total assets$1.93 billion[2] (2020)
Total equity$326.6 million[2] (2020)
OwnerStandard General (38%)[3]
Number of employees
5,455[4] (2020)
Websiteballys.com

Bally's Corporation is a gaming, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. It owns and operates 15 casinos across ten states, a horse track in Colorado, and online sports betting operations in 14 states.[5]

The company was founded in 2004 as BLB Investors. It eventually changed its name to Twin River Worldwide Holdings. In 2020, the company acquired the rights to the Bally's brand from Caesars Entertainment and changed its own name to Bally's Corporation.

History

Bally's originated as BLB Investors. BLB was formed in 2004, as a joint venture between Starwood Capital Group, Kerzner International, and the Waterford Group for the purpose of launching a bid to acquire Wembley plc.[6][7] Wembley was a British operator of racetracks in the United Kingdom and the United States, whose primary asset was Lincoln Park, a greyhound track and slot machine parlor in Rhode Island.[8] BLB reached a deal in February 2005, agreeing to pay $435 million for Lincoln Park, plus $20 million for Wembley's other U.S. properties, comprising a horse track (Arapahoe Park) and three greyhound tracks in Colorado.[9][10] The purchase closed in July 2005.[11]

BLB undertook a $220-million expansion of Lincoln Park and, in 2007, renamed it Twin River.[12]

By 2008, as a result of the global economic recession, BLB was struggling financially and began defaulting on loans related to the purchase and renovation of Twin River.[13][14] In June 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a prepackaged plan to hand over ownership to its creditors.[15][16] The company emerged from bankruptcy in 2010, now owned by a syndicate of lenders led by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Sankaty Advisors. In 2011, the company changed its name to Twin River Worldwide Holdings.[17][18]

Logo of Twin River Worldwide Holdings (2011–2020)

In Colorado, the company's three dog racing tracks closed as interest in the sport declined, and all three had been sold off by 2011.[19][20][21]

Land-based gaming expansion

In 2014, Twin River bought the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi in Mississippi from Leucadia National for $250 million.[22][23] The acquisition was made to diversify the company geographically, in preparation for expected competition from Massachusetts, which had legalized casinos in 2011.[24]

In 2015, Twin River purchased Rhode Island's only other casino, the Newport Grand, for $22 million, and announced plans to relocate its operations to a new facility to be built in Tiverton, Rhode Island.[25][26][27] The Newport Grand closed in 2018, and its replacement, the $140-million Tiverton Casino Hotel, opened days later.[28][29]

In 2016, hedge fund Standard General took an ownership stake in Twin River,[30] and its principal partner, Soo Kim, took a seat on the board. Kim went on to become Twin River's chairman in 2019, and began leading the company through a rapid expansion.[31]

In March 2019, Twin River completed a reverse merger with Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, the parent company of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.[32][33] The transaction made Twin River a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and left Dover Downs shareholders with a 7 percent stake in the combined company.[34]

In January 2020, Twin River purchased three casinos in Black Hawk, Colorado (the Golden Gates, Golden Gulch, and Mardi Gras) from Affinity Gaming for $51 million.[35][36][37]

In July 2020, Twin River bought two casinos in Missouri and Mississippi (Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City and Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg) from Eldorado Resorts for $230 million.[38] They were renamed Casino KC and Casino Vicksburg.

Later that month, Twin River acquired the rights to the Bally's brand from Caesars Entertainment for $20 million.[39] At the time, Twin River said that it would rebrand "virtually all" of its properties under the Bally's name.[40] In November 2020, the company changed its name to Bally's Corporation and its stock ticker symbol to BALY.[41] Days later, the company closed on purchasing Bally's Atlantic City from Caesars and Vici Properties for $25 million.[42]

Bally's acquired the Eldorado Shreveport casino hotel in Louisiana from Eldorado Resorts in December 2020 for $140 million.[43]

In January 2021, Bally's partnered with developer Ira Lubert in a plan to build a $120-million casino in the area of State College, Pennsylvania.[44] The next month, the company announced another proposed casino development, Bally's Richmond, which would be built in Richmond, Virginia, at a cost of $650 million;[45] the proposal was rejected by the city.[46]

In April 2021, Bally's acquired the operations of the MontBleu casino in Nevada from Caesars for $15 million,[47] and later renamed it Bally’s Lake Tahoe.[48] Bally's also entered a sale-and-leaseback deal with Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) for the three Black Hawk casinos and Jumer's, agreeing to sell them for $150 million and lease them back for $12 million per year.[49]

In June 2021, Bally's bought Jumer's Casino & Hotel in Illinois from Delaware North for $120 million,[50] and also purchased the operating business of Tropicana Evansville in Indiana from Caesars for $140 million.[51] To fund the Tropicana purchase, the real estate of Dover Downs was sold to GLPI for $144 million in a leaseback transaction.[51][52]

In January 2022, Standard General moved to take full ownership of Bally's, offering to buy all outstanding shares in a transaction valuing the company at $2.07 billion.[53] The board of directors rejected the offer in May.[54]

In May 2022, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot selected Bally's proposal to build the $1.7-billion Bally's Chicago casino resort in the city's River West neighborhood. A temporary site is planned to open in mid-2023 at the Medinah Temple, before phase 1 of the new, permanent facility is completed by 2026.[55][56][57] It was projected to eventually account for one third of the company's gaming revenue.[54]

In September 2022, Bally's purchased the non-land assets of the Tropicana Las Vegas from GLPI and Penn Entertainment for $148 million.[58]

In September 2023, Bally's Chicago opened as the first and only licensed casino of the modern era in Chicago at the Medinah Temple (temporary casino; permanent facility planned to open in 2026).[59][60]

Interactive gaming expansion

In November 2020, Bally's entered into a long-term media partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which would include the rebranding of its Fox Sports Networks regional sports networks under the Bally brand in a 10-year deal, and integration of Bally's content into its sports properties. The agreement included warrants that would allow Sinclair to acquire up to a 14.9% stake in Bally's, and increase its stake to up to 24.9% if performance criteria are met.[61] The nineteen regional sports networks were rebranded as Bally Sports in March 2021.[62]

In 2021, Bally's made several acquisitions to expand its online gaming and sports betting business. In February, it acquired SportCaller, a provider of free-to-play online games.[63] The next month, the company acquired Monkey Knife Fight, the third-largest daily fantasy sports operator in the U.S., for up to $90 million in stock.[64][65] In June, Bally's acquired the sports betting platform Bet.Works for $125 million.[66][67][68] In July, it acquired the Association of Volleyball Professionals.[69] In October, it acquired Gamesys Group, a British online gambling company, for $2.7 billion,[70][71]

Properties

The company operates fourteen casino properties, a standalone horse track, and a golf course:

References

  1. ↑ Form 10-Q: Quarterly Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. May 10, 2021. p. 37 – via EDGAR.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. March 10, 2021. pp. 54–55 – via EDGAR.
  3. ↑ Schedule 14A: Proxy Statement (Report). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. April 6, 2020. p. 14 – via EDGAR.
  4. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. March 10, 2021. p. 10 – via EDGAR.
  5. ↑ Lou Monaco, "Bally's Rebrands Kansas City Casino, Expansion Planned," Top US Casinos, April 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Heather Tomlinson (March 30, 2004). "Gambling tycoon trumps MGM's bid for Wembley". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  7. ↑ Brian Hallenbeck (November 27, 2012). "Holyoke is back in Massachusetts casino mix". The Day. New London, CT. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  8. ↑ Liz Benston (January 27, 2004). "MGM Mirage buying track, slot firm for $490 million". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  9. ↑ Karen Florin (February 9, 2005). "Wolman, BLB put new offer on table to buy Lincoln Park". The Day. New London, CT – via NewsBank.
  10. ↑ Jim Bainbridge (February 9, 2005). "New owners won't change local dog track". The Gazette. Colorado Springs – via NewsBank.
  11. ↑ Katherine Gregg (July 19, 2005). "BLB completes its purchase of Lincoln Park". Providence Journal – via NewsBank.
  12. ↑ M. Charles Bakst (April 1, 2007). "Slots are smoking at Twin River". Providence Journal – via NewsBank.
  13. ↑ George Brennan (June 14, 2008). "Tribe backers' 'racino' at risk". Cape Cod Times – via NewsBank.
  14. ↑ Erica Jacobson (June 15, 2008). "Struggling Rhode Island slot parlor faltering under debt". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT – via NewsBank.
  15. ↑ Jim Baron (June 24, 2009). "Twin River bankrupt". The Call. Woonsocket, RI – via NewsBank.
  16. ↑ Paul Grimaldi (November 10, 2010). "Twin River wins license transfer". Providence Journal – via NewsBank.
  17. ↑ Eric Tucker (November 9, 2010). "RI slot parlor emerges from bankruptcy protection". Associated Press – via NewsBank.
  18. ↑ "Facility Permit Ownership Transfer Application" (PDF). Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation. p. 359. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  19. ↑ Wayne Heilman (December 16, 2010). "Off-track will get on track". The Gazette. Colorado Springs – via NewsBank.
  20. ↑ Terry Frei (May 27, 2010). "Doggone: Greyhound tracks R.I.P." Denver Post – via NewsBank.
  21. ↑ "Commerce City agency buys greyhound park". Associated Press. August 3, 2011 – via NewsBank.
  22. ↑ Paul Grimaldi (July 10, 2014). "Twin River completes purchase of Mississippi casino". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  23. ↑ Richard Salit (December 15, 2013). "Twin River agrees to buy Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, Miss". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  24. ↑ "Purchase of Biloxi Hard Rock Casino 'important piece of puzzle' for Twin River". The Press-Register. Mobile, AL. AP. February 17, 2014. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  25. ↑ "Twin River acquires rival Newport Grand". Washington Times. AP. March 4, 2015. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  26. ↑ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. April 1, 2019. p. 4 – via EDGAR.
  27. ↑ Courtney Caligiuri (April 21, 2015). "Twin River announces plan to move Newport Grand to Tiverton". WPRI-TV. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  28. ↑ Shaun Towne; Steph Machado; Shiina Losciuto (August 28, 2018). "Newport Grand closes its doors, making way for Tiverton casino". WPRI-TV. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  29. ↑ Scott Barrett (September 1, 2018). "Tiverton casino opens with excitement, protest". Newport Daily News. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  30. ↑ Josh Kosman (July 27, 2020). "Hedge-funder gambles on coronavirus to build casino empire". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  31. ↑ Howard Stutz (April 6, 2021). "Fixing a problematic North Las Vegas casino fueled the gaming pursuits of Bally's Soo Kim". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  32. ↑ Brad Allen (July 24, 2018). "Twin River acquires Dover Downs for sports betting and egaming expertise". eGaming Review. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  33. ↑ "Twin River completes Dover Downs acquisition and NYSE listing" (Press release). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. March 29, 2019 – via EDGAR.
  34. ↑ Brian Hallenbeck (July 23, 2018). "Twin River to merge with Delaware casino, trade publicly". The Day. New London, CT. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  35. ↑ "Twin River completes $51M purchase of 3 casinos". Washington Post. AP. January 24, 2020. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  36. ↑ "Black Hawk casinos bought by east coast operator Twin River". Denver Post. AP. January 29, 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  37. ↑ Ben Markus (January 31, 2019). "Colorado's casinos, horse track arm wrestle over who will cash in on sports betting". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  38. ↑ Bailey Schulz (July 11, 2019). "Eldorado Resorts to sell 2 properties in preparation of Caesars deal". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  39. ↑ Josh Kosman (October 12, 2020). "Hedge-fund investor Soo Kim buys Bally's casino brand for $20M". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  40. ↑ Patrick Anderson (October 13, 2020). "Twin River could soon become Bally's". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  41. ↑ "Twin River finalises Bally’s rebrand and ticker change," Casino Beats, November 10, 2020.
  42. ↑ Richard N. Velotta (November 18, 2020). "Caesars closes Bally's Atlantic City sale to Rhode Island company". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  43. ↑ "Shreveport's Eldorado Resort Casino gets new owners". KSLA-TV. December 23, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  44. ↑ Daniel Urie (January 4, 2021). "Bally's to open casino near Penn State's main campus". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, PA. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  45. ↑ Emma North (February 22, 2021). "Bally's Corporation joins the competition to build a resort casino in Richmond". WRIC-TV. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  46. ↑ Chris Suarez (April 21, 2021). "Richmond casino proposals down to 2". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  47. ↑ Howard Stutz (April 7, 2021). "Nevada: Bally's closes on purchase of MontBleu in Lake Tahoe from Caesars". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  48. ↑ "Nevada's MontBleu casino changes name to Bally’s Lake Tahoe," Northern Nevada Business Weekly, July 8, 2021.
  49. ↑ "Bally's to acquire Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel And Casino" (Press release). Bally's Corporation. April 13, 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-15 – via PR Newswire.
  50. ↑ Sarah Hayden (June 15, 2021). "Bally's buys Jumer's Casino in Rock Island". Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  51. 1 2 "Bally's Corporation completes acquisition of Tropicana Evansville casino" (Press release). Bally's Corporation. June 4, 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  52. ↑ Evan Jones (June 4, 2021). "Gaming and Leisure completes acquisition of casinos in Indiana and Delaware". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  53. ↑ Will Feuer (January 25, 2022). "Casino operator Bally's shares jump on Standard General buyout offer". The Wall Street Journal. (subscription required)
  54. 1 2 Robert Channick (May 7, 2022). "Chicago rolls the dice on Bally's. Hedge fund owner Soo Kim says the rebranded casino company will deliver". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
  55. ↑ "Photos: See What The Proposed Bally's Casino in Chicago's River North Will Look Like". NBC Chicago. May 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  56. ↑ "Bally's Corp. chosen to build Chicago's first casino". Chicago Business Journal. May 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  57. ↑ "It's official: Bally's casino in River West is Mayor Lori Lightfoot's pick for Chicago's gambling complex — but it's not a done deal yet". Chicago Tribune. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  58. ↑ Staff, News 3 (2022-09-27). "Bally's Corp closes deal to purchase Tropicana Las Vegas". KSNV. Retrieved 2022-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  59. ↑ "Bally's Corp. chosen to build Chicago's first casino". Chicago Business Journal. May 5, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  60. ↑ "Bally's gets Gaming Board approval to open temporary casino". Chicago Tribune. 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  61. ↑ Novy-Williams, Eben (2020-11-19). "Bally's Buys Sinclair RSN Naming Rights As Part of Sports Betting Push". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  62. ↑ Joe Reedy (March 31, 2021). "Former Fox regional networks begin new era as Bally Sports". The Seattle Times. AP. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  63. ↑ Howard Stutz (February 9, 2021). "Game developer SportCaller acquired by Bally's, joins the company's interactive division". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  64. ↑ Sam Carp (January 26, 2021). "Bally's buys fantasy sports site Monkey Knife Fight in US$90m deal". SportsPro. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  65. ↑ Howard Stutz (March 23, 2021). "Bally's completes acquisition of daily fantasy sports operator Monkey Knife Fight". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  66. ↑ Rege Behe (June 1, 2021). "Bally's acquistion [sic] of Bet.Works finalized". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  67. ↑ Derek Helling, "Bally’s Corp. Making Moves To Compete In Sports Betting Industry Nationwide," NJ Gambling Sites, November 27, 2020.
  68. ↑ Todd Shriber, "Bally’s Brand Heading to Sinclair Sports Networks, Gaming Company Buying Bet.Works for $125 Million," Casino.org, November 18, 2020.
  69. ↑ "Bally's buys AVP, plans to air content on RSNs". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  70. ↑ Amy Thomson (March 24, 2021). "Bally's agrees to buy betting firm Gamesys for $2.7 billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  71. ↑ Moraine, Julie (13 April 2021). "Bally's and Gamesys Agree Combination Definitive Terms". Gambling News. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  72. ↑ Aliya Schneider (September 14, 2023). "Bally's to run Trump Links through 2035 'win or lose' casino bid, Chair Soo Kim says". Bronx Times. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
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