Bally's Bronx may be politically divisive, but it didn't stop New Yorkers from showing up on Tuesday to support it.
On Tuesday night, the first public hearing for the Bally's Bronx casino project took place. It was evident that Bronx people want one of the downstate New York licenses.
The conference centre at 1200 Waters Place was the site of Bally's third New York proposal hearing. There are eight proposals for three downstate licenses that will be given out this year. Bally's is the only Bronx bid.
The gaming corporation says it wants to invest there because the borough is having trouble with its economy. It wants to build a $4 billion integrated resort in Ferry Point, on a golf property that it bought from the Trump Organisation in 2023. Bally's Chairman Soo Kim said in a presentation earlier this month that his company's bid was the "most responsive" to the state's goal of maximising economic effect.
About three-quarters of the people who spoke on Tuesday were in favour of the initiative. In comparison, the MGM Empire City and Caesars Times Square projects got a lot more criticism at recent public hearings.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams helped keep the Bally’s bid alive twice in recent weeks, and his rationale has been to give the Bronx an equal chance at economic development. Many people in the area seemed to agree with these feelings.
“I’m kind of shocked that Bally’s wants to come in and invest and I welcome that 100%,” said Edward Romeo, a former member of Bronx Community Board 10. Romeo said that the Bronx has always been the city’s “designated kick in the ass”.
Getting to know the Bronx community
Many of people who were in favour of casinos, however, admitted that they are not perfect. But they thought that if Bally's was willing to make the biggest private investment in the borough's history, then so be it.
"Let's hold them to everything they say they'll do, but let's also give them a chance." "You can't be against people doing better," added Lauren Patterson, a local resident, as the crowd cheered.
In April, Bally's won over the Bronx community by keeping Preston High institution, an all-girls institution, from closing. Its charitable arm, the Bally's Foundation, bought the school for $8.5 million and then rented it back for $1. It also paid for repairs. Several young students who are going to Preston next year spoke in favour of it.
Union representatives also showed up to support their members, just like they did for all the New York bids. Bally's promises 15,000 construction employment, which is one of the biggest numbers in the casino proposals. There were a lot of people from IBEW Local 3 at the meeting on Tuesday.
Ray West, a business representative for Local 3, stated, "I'm very excited about the project because I care about jobs and people working. I really appreciate Bally's commitment to the neighbourhood, and that gives me faith that they will continue to do that in the future."
Opposition to how to use parkland and traffic
Some people pushed back, mostly about the construction of parkland. Bally's needed permission to change the zoning of the property in order to get a licence. Some people thought the parks should be used in a different way.
Local resident Al Quattlebaum remarked, "I'm against the casino at Ferry Point because it hurts our community." "Our parkland was meant to be a place for families, kids, and seniors, not a casino." Bally's casino is a betrayal of what our community needs in order to make money for businesses.
One woman brought a pledge card that Bally's had given out to voters in the area. She said it was dishonest and didn't say anything about a casino. Danielle Volpe, a member of the project's local community advisory committee (CAC), has already talked about this. The CAC will vote by September 30 on whether the proposal bid should go to the state for consideration.
A man who worked for the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development and whose name was not clear said that a casino could have bad repercussions.
He said, "Many of you will look back on this decision with regret in 20 years." "You want to promote gambling in a borough that is already having trouble, and you want to bring millions more cars into a community that has the highest asthma rate in the country." That isn't progress.
The next hearing will be on September 9th. The project's CAC can have more hearings after that, but they only need to hold two. Bally needs four out of six CAC members to vote for its bid in order for it to stay in the running.
The growing corporation had a steady second quarter.
Bally's seems to be doing okay in other places as the New York casino competition goes on. The company said on August 11 that its group revenue in Q2 was $657.5 million, which is about 6% more than the same time last year. Its casino and resorts business, in particular, grew 15% year over year to $393 million. The merger with Queen Casino & Entertainment in February added four more properties, which led to this increase.
It's important to remember that the figures only show revenue, not net profits.
The company's interactive revenue in North America was $56.5 million, which is 21% more than last year. Bally's is the only company that offers iGaming in Rhode Island, where it is based. It is also expanding its Bally Bet digital platform to new places. The platform is currently available in 11 US states and Ontario, Canada.
International digital revenue fell 10% to $206 million, and Q2 was basically the last quarter of activity for that area. Last November, Bally sold its Asian interactive business. In July, it sold the rest of its international assets to Intralot for €2.7 billion (US$3.1 billion). The €1.53 billion in cash will assist pay off senior debt, which is a major relief for the business.
Bally's had $174.5 million in cash at the end of the quarter, but it also had $3.5 billion in net debt. That was less cash and more debt than in the first quarter, which made its long-term viability much less likely. Bally's issuer default rating from Fitch Ratings has gone down from a B+ in July 2021 to a B- with a negative outlook currently. Still, the corporation has been able to move forward with a number of agreements over that time.
The Chicago IPO is over, but it could help New York bids.
Bally's also said on August 14 that it has finished the first round of share purchases for its initial public offering (IPO) for its permanent Chicago casino, which has a tight timetable to operate by September 2026.
The announcement says that "nearly 1,800 unique shareholders, including 1,007 Chicagoans and 1,573 Illinois-based shareholders," bought shares. This was the first of "a few rounds of placements" that the company has planned. The price of shares ranged from $250 to $25,000, and the program's goal is to meet the city's requirements for minority ownership.
Bally's was sued for discrimination when it first tried to issue the IPO, which the Securities and Exchange Commission never approved. Some people have said that the investment is dangerous and not very clear.
A similar IPO plan is being pushed for Bally's Bronx, which would give the project 9% of its stock.
Bally's SVP of Corporate Development Christopher Jewett said in an earlier presentation, "We see these shares of the [investment program] being available for as little as $250 or $500, giving people of all social classes a chance to own equity."
Two other bidders from New York, Freedom Plaza and Caesars Times Square, are also promising local IPOs. Bally's first round in Chicago went well, so it could be a model for other rounds in the Empire State.
