Caesars May Rename Bally’s Las Vegas with Horseshoe Brand

Caesars Entertainment is rumored to be considering renaming its Bally’s Las Vegas property as the Horseshoe, another of the operator’s well-known brands.

Bally's name change
Bally’s Las Vegas. Caesars is rumored to be considering a name change for the venue. (Image: Pinterest)

The rumor was initially reported Wednesday by Vital Vegas, which indicates the venue could eventually be known as Horseshoe Las Vegas. A request for comment on the matter to Caesars by Casino.org wasn’t replied to prior to publication of this article.

Assuming a name change happens, it won’t be the first time for this integrated resort. When it opened in 1973, it was the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The company known as Bally Manufacturing acquired it in 1986, renaming it Bally’s.

That company started as a maker of gaming devices and pinball machines, before expanding into casino operations and health clubs. Bally’s Las Vegas was sold to Hilton Hotels in 1996.

Why Name Change Makes Sense

A company known as Park Place would eventually operate Bally’s, renovating the venue in 2000. That firm would later take the Caesars name. In 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment became the owner of Bally’s through its $5.2 billion acquisition of Caesars.

The combined operator was renamed Caesars in 2010, and for more than a decade, the only gaming venues in the US bearing the Bally’s name were in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, NJ.

That’s slated to change, sparking the need for a new name on the Strip venue. Last year, Caesars sold the Bally’s brand to the company previously known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) for a reported $20 million. Prior to that, TRWH purchased Bally’s Atlantic City. Under the terms of the brand purchase agreement, the buyer provides a perpetual license to Caesars to use the Bally’s name in Las Vegas.

Perhaps sparking Caesars’ desire to rename the Las Vegas venue is “new Bally’s” growth and plans to put essentially all of its casinos under the Bally’s brand.

Once a nearly anonymous regional gaming operator, Bally’s today is a $2.23 billion powerhouse built on a variety of acquisitions that are taking the company into international markets, iGaming, and sports betting. When accounting for pending deals, the company will run nearly 15 land-based casinos in almost a dozen states, meaning Bally’s Las Vegas would be an outlier if it continues to operate under that name, because Bally’s Corp. has nothing to do with that property.

Horseshoe Has Own Cache

As Vital Vegas notes, the Horseshoe name has its own pizzazz in the gaming world and is a throwback to a bygone Sin City era.

It has history, too, with the original Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas having opened in the early 1950s.

Currently, Caesars operates five venues under that brand — one apiece in Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, and Mississippi, though the Horseshoe Hammond Casino in northwest Indiana is likely to be sold this year.

Todd Shriber
Todd Shriber Financial Reporter

Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org.

Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019.

Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com.

He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better.

Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.

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  • GM
    George Marino September 25, 2021
    As a local I feel a new name would spark some excitement. Though I enjoyed it in the past, Bally's is a tired property and… As a local I feel a new name would spark some excitement. Though I enjoyed it in the past, Bally's is a tired property and the confusion of the shopping/dining offerings directly on the strip make entry to the resort difficult.
    Reply
  • BS
    Bill Springer March 26, 2021
    Agree leave name alone. We've been to 2 of the horseshoe casinos Ballys in Vegas lowering standards if change name
    Reply
  • KS
    Ken& Sandi Krajniak Sr March 26, 2021
    Bally's is iconic. We have stayed there more than any where else in Vegas. Hasn't enough been done to the "Vegas"we all knew?! No fun… Bally's is iconic. We have stayed there more than any where else in Vegas. Hasn't enough been done to the "Vegas"we all knew?! No fun or excitement much any more. Thank You.!
    Reply

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