Skeptics are wrong about Bally’s in Las Vegas, chairman says

Despite what he describes as a “soft” market, Soo Kim is unapologetically bullish about casino gaming. So much so, in fact, that the founder and managing partner of New York-based hedge fund Standard General LP pushed for — and finally got — a multibillion-dollar buyout of Bally’s Corp., the publicly traded casino and resort operator where Kim serves as chairman of the board.

“We’ve been nothing but positive and optimistic and forward leaning about the prospects for Bally’s…We’ve been nothing but straight with the markets telling them what we think is gonna happen, and yet there was doubt about every step,” Kim said Friday during an exclusive interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’d love to use this opportunity to sort of take advantage of market uncertainty, put our money where our mouth is, and show people the extent of our confidence.”

Pending regulatory approval, the $4.6 billion transaction announced Thursday will merge Bally’s Corp. with regional gaming operator The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., increasing the combined company’s gaming portfolio to 19 properties across 11 states. The deal is expected to close in the early part of 2025.

‘We aspire to the an international operator’

Once finalized, Standard General would assume majority control of the company, giving Kim the flexibility to execute his long-term vision. He maintains an unwavering belief that growth for Bally’s is completely attainable.

And, unsurprisingly, Las Vegas figures prominently into those ambitions.

Presently, Bally’s has operational control of the Tropicana casino-hotel, which is scheduled to be imploded in just a few months. The 35-acre lot at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue is slated to be the new home of a baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics in addition to a new Bally’s resort project.

Kim said there should be no question that Bally’s is committed to being in, as he put it,“the gaming capital of the world.”

“We aspire to be an omnichannel operator (and) we aspire to be an international operator. (But) I think you have to be in Vegas,” said Kim. “Having a presence in Vegas is actually quite strategic for us.”

Reasons to doubt Bally’s

Critics have pointed to declining stock value and the drawn-out effort to secure capital for a Chicago casino project as reasons to doubt Bally’s potential, particularly in Las Vegas where there are already unanswered questions about the A’s financing for the new ballpark project.

Kim said the Standard General transaction, which comes directly on the heels of Bally’s securing nearly $1.5 billion in financing from its real estate investment trust landlord Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. to finish the Chicago casino, is proof that skeptics are wrong.

“There’s a certain pessimism (in the markets)…but, what I would say about the Tropicana (site) is that I think it’s a tremendous opportunity,” he said. “I think the right project (there) will be financed, and I feel quite confident in that.”

Kim said the original plan was to build a ballpark on the site first, and follow with an appropriate resort design. However, he now says “the plan has evolved.”

“We’ve been thinking that we should probably build something alongside the ballpark, and the question (became) “Is it a starter or a large resort?” he said. “It probably isn’t the whole thing at once, but we want to build something, and so we’re literally in the process of figuring out what that something is.”

During its second-quarter earnings call Friday morning, GLPI executives expressed optimism in both Bally’s and the Oakland A’s, saying both development projects were on schedule and moving ahead.

Kim agreed with that assessment.

“Our messaging has been consistent. We haven’t really veered off our message,” he said. “We continue to believe that our future’s bright, the future for the industry is bright, and we’re excited for tomorrow.”

Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or follow him on X at AC_Danzis.