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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Twin River Worldwide Holdings
Bally's Corporation is an American gambling, betting, and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. It operates 13 casinos across ten states, a horse track in Colorado, and online sports betting operations in 14 states.

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. 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. 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. The purchase closed in July 2005.

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

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. In June 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a prepackaged plan to hand over ownership to its creditors. 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.

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.

Land-based gambling expansion

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

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. The Newport Grand closed in 2018, and its replacement, the $140-million Tiverton Casino Hotel, opened days later.

In 2016, hedge fund Standard General took an ownership stake in Twin River, 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.

In March 2019, Twin River completed a reverse merger with Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, the parent company of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. 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.

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.

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. 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. At the time, Twin River said that it would rebrand "virtually all" of its properties under the Bally's name. In November 2020, the company changed its name to Bally's Corporation and its stock ticker symbol to BALY. Days later, the company closed on purchasing Bally's Atlantic City from Caesars and Vici Properties for $25 million.

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

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. 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; the proposal was rejected by the city.

In April 2021, Bally's acquired the operations of the MontBleu casino in Nevada from Caesars for $15 million, and later renamed it Bally’s Lake Tahoe. 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.

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

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. The board of directors rejected the offer in May.

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. It was projected to eventually account for one third of the company's gaming revenue. Bally's Chicago opened in September 2023.

In September 2022, Bally's purchased the non-land assets of the Tropicana Las Vegas from GLPI and Penn Entertainment for $148 million. Bally's plans to replace the Tropicana with a 3,000 room integrated resort which will sit next to the New Las Vegas Stadium.

Interactive gambling 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. The nineteen regional sports networks were rebranded as Bally Sports in March 2021.

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. 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. In June, Bally's acquired the sports betting platform Bet.Works for $125 million. In July, it acquired the Association of Volleyball Professionals. In October, it acquired Gamesys Group, a British online gambling company, for $2.7 billion,.

By acquiring Gamesys Group, Bally's is the online casino and bingo operator for six UK-based platforms. These are Virgin Games, Jackpotjoy, MONOPOLY Casino, Rainbow Riches Casino, Double Bubble Bingo, and Bally Casino.

Bally Live

In March 2023, Bally's Corporation launched Bally Live, a streaming video service. The app features live sports streaming from Stadium, Minor League Baseball, Major League Table Tennis, the Association of Volleyball Professionals and the Pro Volleyball Federation. The app also features mini-games users can play to win virtual rewards.

Properties

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

Former properties

Future properties

References

  1. ^ Form 10-Q: Quarterly Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. May 10, 2021. p. 37 – via EDGAR.
  2. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. March 15, 2024. pp. 60–61 – via EDGAR.
  3. ^ Schedule 14A: Proxy Statement (Report). Twin River Worldwide Holdings. April 6, 2020. p. 17 – via EDGAR.
  4. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). Bally's Corporation. March 15, 2024. p. 9 – via EDGAR.
  5. ^ Lou Monaco, "Bally's Rebrands Kansas City Casino, Expansion Planned," Top US Casinos, April 3, 2021.
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  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.
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  50. ^ Sarah Hayden (June 15, 2021). "Bally's buys Jumer's Casino in Rock Island". Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
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  61. ^ Tropicana implosion paves the way for new era in Las Vegas — VIDEO
  62. ^ 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.
  63. ^ Joe Reedy (March 31, 2021). "Former Fox regional networks begin new era as Bally Sports". The Seattle Times. AP. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  64. ^ 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.
  65. ^ Sam Carp (January 26, 2021). "Bally's buys fantasy sports site Monkey Knife Fight in US$90m deal". SportsPro. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
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  67. ^ Rege Behe (June 1, 2021). "Bally's acquistion [sic] of Bet.Works finalized". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
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  69. ^ Todd Shriber, "Bally’s Brand Heading to Sinclair Sports Networks, Gaming Company Buying Bet.Works for $125 Million," Casino.org, November 18, 2020.
  70. ^ "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.
  71. ^ Amy Thomson (March 24, 2021). "Bally's agrees to buy betting firm Gamesys for $2.7 billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  72. ^ Moraine, Julie (13 April 2021). "Bally's and Gamesys Agree Combination Definitive Terms". Gambling News. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  73. ^ "About Us | Virgin Games". www.virgingames.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  74. ^ "About Us - Jackpotjoy". www.jackpotjoy.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  75. ^ "About Us - MONOPOLY Casino". www.monopolycasino.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  76. ^ "About Us - Rainbow Riches Casino". www.rainbowrichescasino.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  77. ^ "About Us | Get to Know Double Bubble Bingo!". www.doublebubblebingo.com. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  78. ^ "About Us - Bally Casino". www.ballycasino.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  79. ^ Helling, Derek (March 31, 2023). "Bally's New MiLB Streaming Product Could Convert Users To Sports Betting". PlayUSA. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  80. ^ "Reindorf's Stadium to Relaunch as Live Interactive Channel". JohnWallStreet. October 30, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  81. ^ Bupp, Phillip (March 23, 2023). "MLB reportedly strikes deal to stream Minor League Baseball games on Bally Live casino app". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  82. ^ "Major League Table Tennis Strikes Key Licensing Deal with Bally Live". Major League Table Tennis. November 21, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  83. ^ Hamel, Larry (March 27, 2023). "AVP responds as 2023 streaming switches, limited choices bring social-media heat". Volleyball Mag. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  84. ^ "PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION ANNOUNCES BALLY LIVE AND STADIUM AS MEDIA RIGHTS PARTNERS". Pro Volleyball Federation. January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  85. ^ 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.
  86. ^ A’s Las Vegas ballpark may be flanked by Bally’s towers
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