Bally’s Lands on the Strip, Completes Tropicana Deal

The global casino-entertainment company, Bally’s Corporation, announced Tuesday it completed the planned acquisition of the non-land-based assets of the Tropicana Las Vegas.

Bally’s Corporation Completes Tropicana Takeover Bid

To complete the takeover, Bally’s agreed to purchase the non-land-based assets of the Tropicana Las Vegas in a cash purchase of $148 million, payable to Penn Entertainment and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc (GLPI). Besides the cash purchase price, Bally’s agreed to lease the land under the resort property from GLPI. The annual rent for the underlying land of the Tropicana Las Vegas is set at $10.5 million with an initial term planned for 50 years.

The Tropicana marks Bally’s first property located on the famous Las Vegas Strip. The property is on a 35-acre parcel and features a hotel and casino located on the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino offers 50,000 square feet of casino space with 1,000 gaming positions, as well as 1,470 hotel rooms. But the venue also offers 100,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, as well as a performance theater with 1,200 seats.

The Acquisition Plan Dates Back to April 2021

The initial announcement for the plan of the purchase of the Tropicana dates back to last year. In April 2021, Bally’s unveiled its plan to acquire the non-land-based assets of the property in a deal for approximately $150 million. Similar to the conditions announced upon closing of the deal recently, Bally’s expected to lease the underlying land of the property for 50 years for an annual rent of $10.5 million. 

At the time of the initial announcement, GLPI’s chairman and CEO, Peter Carlino, revealed that the company is delighted to expand its collaboration with Bally’s via the new deal. What’s more, he deemed the planned acquisition a “win-win for both companies.”

Bally’s Continues to Grow US Footprint

The new hotel and casino resort complements Bally’s ongoing growth. By now, the company has a presence in 10 US states where it owns and manages 15 casinos, as well as a horse racetrack located in Colorado. What’s more, Bally’s has secured access to 18 US states via online sports betting licenses. 

Earlier this month Bally’s announced that its EVP of government relations, legal and regulatory, Marc Crisafulli, retired from his position with the company. His retirement was effective as of September 16. During his tenure with Bally’s Crisafulli held multiple leadership positions. He was in his most recent role as EVP of government relations, legal and regulatory since November 2020.