Nevada regulators grant Bally's final approval for $308M acquisition of Tropicana Las Vegas

TheNevada Gaming Commissiongranted final approval Thursday to Bally’s Corp purchase of the Tropicana Las Vegas casino. The operator is set to acquire the property for $308 million from Penn National Entertainment. 

Bally’s intends to make the Tropicana its western flagship operation, with the deal expected to formally close between Sunday and Monday. The land where the resort is located, however, will continue to be owned by real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties, which is affiliated with Penn. Bally’s will pay $10.5 million yearly in a 50-year lease agreement.  

Tropicana customers can expect to see some immediate changes as the casino transitions from Penn’s mychoice loyalty program to Bally’s Rewards. New signage alerting players to the change is expected to be placed on the property within two days. Points won’t be transferred, and mychoice rewards will be allowed to be used at Penn's M Resort.

However, there are no immediate plans to change the name of the property. The company told commissioners it plans to strategize on a long-term plan for 90 to 180 days and will not likely make any improvements to the Tropicana for one or two years.

As reported by Las Vegas Review-Journal, executives said all workers at the Tropicana will continue in their jobs with the same pay and benefit levels they had under Penn. And the property's sportsbook will continue to be operated by William Hill until the company is ready to transition to a Bally’s-branded amenity. 

George Papanier, president of retail at Bally’s, acknowledged the company’s growth in the last two years, which has led to 17 casinos under the brand's name in 11 states. Since 2020, Bally’s has opened Bally’s Evansville in Indiana, Bally’s Quad Cities in Rock Island, Illinois, and it was the successful bidder to build the first and only casino in Chicago. 

Papanier stated the company would open a temporary property in Chicago in June, and complete the $1.7 billion resort at the former Chicago Tribune site on the Chicago River by the end of 2026.

In support of the project, the city has created a special council committee called Casino Community Advisory Council (CAC), which will serve as a 'channel for community input' as the City moves forward with its first casino.

Bally’s has also begun construction of a casino in State College, Pennsylvania, and has remodeling projects worth of $100 million for its Atlantic City and Rhode Island properties as well as a $50 million remodeling project at Bally’s Kansas City. 

The Tropicana site had been reported to be a potential location to house a $1 billion stadium for Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s, should the team choose to relocate from the Bay Area. However, there was no mention of the baseball stadium during the meeting, as reported by Review-Journal.