Bally’s Agrees to Buy Las Vegas Casino Tropicana On Strip

Bally’s announced Tuesday that it has agreed to purchase the Tropicana Las Vegas casino from Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc., a publicly traded gaming focused real estate investment trust.

The purchase, expected to close in early 2022, is estimated to be valued at approximately $308 million and represents the company’s first Las Vegas asset with significant online gaming exposure. It’s expected to offer cross marketing opportunities and bolster Bally’s customer database, according to a news release.

On April 8, Bally's made another move in the Nevada casino market, adding to its already expansive portfolio by buying the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa from Caesars Entertainment, part of Caesars’ effort to divest in some properties as part of its merger with Eldorado, a deal that was completed in 2020.

“Landing a preeminent spot on the Las Vegas Strip is a key step for us. The Strip is visited by over 40 million players and guests per year, which we believe will significantly enhance Bally's customer base and player database, as well as unlock marketing opportunities to leverage the iconic Bally's brand,” George Papanier, president and chief executive officer of Bally's Corp., said in the release regarding the Tropicana deal. “This expansion will also support the growth and development of our online and interactive business. We look forward to exploring significant redevelopment of the property, which we believe will enhance its financial profile.”

The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino is located on a 35-acre parcel on the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas boulevards. It includes 1,470 guest rooms, 50,000 square feet of casino space with 1,000 gaming positions, a 1,200-seat performance theater and 100,000 square feet of convention and meeting space.

The news gets better for Bally’s as its revenue exceeded $185 million dollars for the first quarter of 2021, according to official figures posted by the company Tuesday.

Bally's Corp. currently owns and manages 12 casinos across eight states, a horse racetrack and 13 authorized OTB licenses in Colorado. With more than 6,000 employees, the company's operations include 13,308 slot machines, 460 game tables and 3,342 hotel rooms. Following the completion of pending acquisitions, which include Tropicana Evansville in Indiana and Jumer's Casino & Hotel (Rock Island, Illinois), as well as the construction of a land-based casino near the Nittany Mall in State College, Pennsylvania, Bally's will own and manage 15 casinos across 11 states.

Busy Time For Bally’s

In late March, reports indicated that Bally’s had announced an agreement in principle to merge with Gamesys, a UK-based gaming company. That’s just the latest in a round of maneuvers that included the sale of Bally’s to Twin River Worldwide Holdings, which rebranded as Bally’s in 2020. The brand had been under the Caesar’s umbrella.

As a whole, Bally’s has been very active recently. Since February, the company reached sports betting deals with the NHL, MLB and NBA and raised its profile by rebranding 19 FOX Sports regional TV channels as Bally Sports. For instance, in Florida, the former FOX Sports Florida and FOX Sports Sun are called Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Sun as of March 31. That was the result of a deal between Bally’s and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Also in recent months, Bally’s has branched into the B2B free-to-play market by buying SportCaller, and also purchased daily fantasy sports company Monkey Knife Fight.