Spin Cycle: Bally’s Playing Hardball Highlights Week In Gambling
Plus: Smoke-free casino in Tampa, horse betting probe, ‘Super Seniors’ play it super snug
Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …
Headwinds in the Windy City
The city of Chicago’s decision to legalize and tax video gaming terminals (VGTs) clearly was motivated in large part by money — starting with the projected $6.8 million in revenue for the city this year from licensing and registration fees.
But the VGT rollout also has the potential to cost the city money — assuming Bally’s isn’t just posturing.
Bally’s won the license in 2022 for a Chicago casino with its $1.7 billion proposal, opened a temporary casino in ’23, and has been building a permanent resort with an eye on opening in early ’27, though the project has run into a handful of delays along the way. The latest delay seems to be entirely of Bally’s choosing, as this week it paused construction of all non-gaming elements of the property, saying the VGT legalization violates Bally’s 2022 Host Community Agreement, at least in spirit.
Bally’s, which warned from the start of its opposition to VGT legalization, said in a statement that it “issued a notification to the Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC) that it is resetting the pace of construction of elements of Bally’s Chicago permanent casino. The potential for an uncontrolled proliferation of video gambling terminals (VGTs) is in breach of the City’s commitment not to expand gaming in the Host Community Agreement (HCA) and creates uncertainty that could be harmful for Bally’s Chicago prospects.”
The company is threatening to withhold its $4 million annual payment to Chicago over VGTs — which were already legal in most of Illinois, but not within Chicago city limits.
The Bally’s statement continued: “We do not take this lightly because of the potential impact on many of the 1,500 union trades people who have been working hard to build Bally’s Chicago. We will continue to assess our options, which we hope will include more productive discussions with the mayor’s office and city council.”
Meanwhile, Bally’s continues with casino projects in the Bronx and Las Vegas, though questions linger over whether the funds are there to complete all three endeavors.
More news to know …
- Tampa’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino announced Monday that it is turning its event center into a smoke-free gaming area, at least on a temporary basis, with plans to have the facility ready this month. This new “Hard Rock Event Center Casino” will include 682 slot machines and 34 table games. “We are committed to providing our guests with more choices, greater comfort, and even more ways to play,” said Travis Lunn, the casino’s president, in a statement.
- Big news this week in the horse racing world, as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) revealed Tuesday it is investigating five races that took place Sunday in New Jersey and New York. The investigation relates to suspicious betting on five horses all linked to the Fair Hill Training Facility in Maryland. HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus told ESPN the wagering and the horses’ performances were “very unusual.”
- Plenty of poker news to shuffle through this week: Mark Scheinberg, co-founder of PokerStars, put his yacht, called Synthesis, up for sale with an asking price of $152.5 million; PokerNews calculated that of the $30.25 million awarded at the WSOP Main Event final table, about $12.27 million will be paid in taxes, leaving a shade under $18 million as actual prize money for the final nine players; Joe McKeehen, winner of the 2015 Main Event, beefed up his resume Tuesday by winning the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship, pocketing $462,600; and at a $330 buy-in “Super Seniors” event (age 60 and up) at MGM National Harbor in Maryland, the final nine players agreed to a chop instead of playing the tournament out, flattening the payouts from a range of $13,570 through $1,357 to a span from $6,088 to $2,881.
- Congratulations to occasional Casino Reports contributor Chris Sieroty on his new role as managing editor of CDC Gaming, announced Monday. “Chris’ depth of experience in gaming journalism, strong editorial judgment, and understanding of the industry make him a great fit for this role,” said CDC Gaming COO and Publisher Cory Roberts.
House Rules: Insights from around our network
Compliance Confidential: A Five-Part Series Examining 'A Stain On The State'
LuckyLand Slots Leaving US Market, Though Luckyland Casino Remains
Illinois Powerball Player Scores $1.04 Billion Jackpot, Eighth Largest In History
Nevada Group Reportedly Next To Split From NCPG Due To Kalshi Partnership
Ruddock Report: Maine Looks Ahead To Online Casinos In 2027
In Gambling Industry, No Election Looms Larger This November Than Texas Lieutenant Governor
Small stakes and hot takes
This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, presented in partnership with DraftKings Casino, I welcomed professional gambler and Unabated co-founder Captain Jack Andrews for his reflections on this year's BetBash event and how it compared to previous editions, his insights on the formation of the Sports Traders Union, his thoughts on card counting and more modern forms of advantage play, and his all-important Philly cheesesteak preferences.
I also ranted about our elected officials completely misunderstanding the Bryce Harper/FanDuel controversy, and I told the tale of an online blackjack hand where the stakes just kept multiplying and the cards just kept getting uglier.
Full episode:
The Shuffle: Other news and views
Faced With Time Behind Bars, Las Vegas Sports Betting Figure Skips Court [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Greenbrier Describes Potential To Keep Casino Open While Financial Transaction Closes [WV Metro News]
Free Ride Is Over: Zoox Robotaxi Service To Begin Charging For Las Vegas Trips [Las Vegas Sun]
With A Deadline Ahead, Pennsylvania May End Its Experiment With ‘Skill Games,’ Putting Social Clubs In Crisis [Penn Live]
Apple Pay Gets Trial Run On Station Casinos Slots [News3LV]
Business Booms For Hollywood Casino Aurora During First Full Month At New $360 Million Facility [Chicago Tribune]
Rebuilding After Gambling: Arizona Offers No-Cost Money Counseling [KVOA 4 Tucson]
Rivers Casino Philadelphia Loses Bid To Toss Data Breach Suit [Bloomberg Law]
‘Free Money’ Drawing Huge Crowds To Strip Casino [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
California Native Tribe Declares Federal Battle After $700M Invite-Only Casino Collapse [New York Post]
Detroit Casinos Bounce Back With $111.6 Million In July Revenue [Saturday Tradition]
The Bonus Round
Completing the Spin Cycle with a few of our favorite social media posts of the week:
Eric has been a professional editor and writer for more than 25 years, including nearly 20 years of experience covering the gambling industry. He was editor-in-chief of the poker magazine All In from 2005-2015 and manag…
