Bally’s Wants Bronx Residents to Enjoy Economic Spoils of Casino

Posted on: March 17, 2025, 03:11h. 

Last updated on: March 17, 2025, 03:11h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • Casino operator offering stakes in planned gaming venue to locals
  • Model is similar to what the company is attempting in Chicago

Bally’s (NYSE: BALY.T) wants Bronx residents to economically participate in its proposed casino hotel in the New York borough.

Bally's Bronx
Bally’s Links in the Bronx, NY. The gaming company wants to sell equity in its proposed Bronx casino to local residents. (Image: Instagram)

Assuming the regional casino operator procures one of the three downstate permits New York regulators have yet to award, it could sell as much as 10% of the venue to Bronx locals Standard General Chairman Soo Kim told The New York Post. Kim is the founder of Standard General, the hedge fund that recently acquired Bally’s.

Customers could be able to invest as little as $250 and get leverage from the Bally’s Foundation, so that if the casino performs well they can make many multiples of their money,” according to The Post.

In 2023, the Rhode Island-based regional casino operator acquired the lease rights to the golf course formerly known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx with hopes of eventually bringing an integrated resort to the property. The gaming company reportedly paid the Trump Organization — the former president’s business empire — $60 million to acquire those rights.

Bally’s Bronx Bet Similar to Chicago Gambit

Bally’s plan to potentially sell equity in its proposed Bronx casino is similar to an effort the operator is looking to advance in Chicago, but there could be significant differences, too.

In the Windy City, Bally’s planned a $250 million initial public offering (IPO) in its upcoming permanent casino hotel there, but that offering has encountered headwinds. Those include legal challenges stemming from the point that the IPO allowed for participation among essentially everyone but white men.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed to declare the offering effective, sending Bally’s back to the drawing board. It’s not clear if the demographic parameters on the offering led to the regulatory delay, but the IPO is part of its host city agreement with Chicago. The Post didn’t mention if the Bronx offering would feature similar racial stipulations.

Bally’s Chicago IPO carries a higher minimum investment of $25,000 and drew ire from some in the investment community because it enticed investors that couldn’t afford that outlay with a loan carrying an interest rate of 11%. That would preclude investors from receiving dividends until the loan is repaid.

Bally’s Bronx Casino No Sure Thing

There are 11 bids for three New York City-area casino licenses, confirming competition is fierce. Amplifying that intensity is speculation that MGM’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Genting’s Resorts World New York in Queens are frontrunners for two of the permits.

Specific to Bally’s New York plans, the land on which it wants to build a gaming venue currently holds parkland designation, meaning politicians need to sponsor legislation to alter that classification. Currently, there’s no appetite to do that.

Kim told The Post  “if we can’t get alienation done, we can’t get a casino license.”