Spin Cycle: More Bally’s Bluster Highlights Week In Gambling
Plus: Vegas Matt movie, new Taraji ad, new ‘Traitors’ slot, Fertitta-Caesars update, and more
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 …
Projects proceeding, so Bally’s says
It seems every week brings new cause for concern about Bally’s having the funding to finish one or more of its three major casino-resort projects in Las Vegas, Chicago, and the Bronx. But this week, the news was all reassuring. Provided you believe what Bally’s is saying, that is.
The company hosted a conference call Monday in which executives reacted to reports that construction on the $1.7 billion Chicago project had halted and that the freeze was a protest statement against the city allowing video gaming terminals. Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim assured investors that was not the case and that “construction continues every day.” Kim said the casino is still on track to open early next year.
“We’re incredibly excited by the progress,” added Bally’s board member Wanda Wilson, who called the forthcoming casino “a truly transformational investment in Chicago.”
Kim and Wilson did not take any questions on the brief call.
Separately on Monday, Bally’s announced it had secured $560 million in new financing to keep its $4 billion resort on a former Trump family golf course in the Bronx on track. Bally’s said the financing was entirely in the form of loans, including $160 million worth from WhiteHawk Capital Partners LP, a Los Angeles-based private credit investment firm.
“This important financing allows us to progress the pre-construction planning process so that we are ready to complete the remainder of the capital raise and remain on schedule,” said Kim.
It’s impossible to know if this was actually a good week for Bally’s. But it was at least a “saying all the right things” week for the company.
More news to know …
- Are you ready for a movie about a guy who films himself playing slots? According to The Hollywood Reporter, an independent film called The Chop is in the works, with filmmaker Mike Young working on the script for a flick about Matt Morrow, better known as “Vegas Matt.” Morrow, who shifted career paths in his late 50s and became a slots influencer, is directly involved in the project and was the one who convinced Young to helm it.
- Fanatics Casino’s ad series starring Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson as Fran, the frustrated head of accounting, returned this week with a new spot that incorporates elements of the horror genre:
- Update on Fertitta Entertainment’s planned takeover of Caesars: The antitrust review is ongoing, Caesars confirmed this week, with the Federal Trade Commission requesting additional information and both parties continuing to project that the deal will close in the first half of 2027. Also, the Caesars board is now down from 10 members to eight, as Jesse Lynn and Ted Papapostolou, two directors appointed by the Icahn Group — whose bid to take over Caesars was rebuffed in favor of the Fertitta bid — recently resigned.
- The latest season of the popular reality show The Traitors premiered Thursday, and with that came an announcement of a Traitors online gaming franchise at BetMGM Casino. The debut game is a slot called The Traitors Faithful Riches, developed by Games Global. A press release notes the game “is the first of several planned titles” and that table games and “non-traditional casino games” with Traitors branding will follow.
- The World Poker Tour’s annual WPT World Championship festival schedule is out, spanning 85 tournaments from Nov. 27 to Dec. 21 at Wynn Las Vegas. In addition to the $10,400 championship event with $1 million added to the prize pool in mystery bounties, highlights include a $400 tourney with a $3 million guarantee and an $1,100 buy-in event with a $5 million guaranteed prize pool.
- Jackpots abound! Last weekend, an unnamed Rancho Cucamonga, California resident playing the Ultimate Texas Hold’Em table game at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino made a five-card royal flush and played the progressive for $5, winning $1.98 million. And on the Vegas Strip over the weekend, Wheel of Fortune machines were handing out big money: A player at Bellagio turned a $10 spin into $1.47 million, while a Venetian customer won just a shade over $1 million on a $5 spin.
House Rules: Insights from around our network
The Supreme Court Is The Wrong Forum To Decide The Future Of Prediction Markets
New Jersey Online Casino Revenue Hits $259.3 Million In August
House Committee Advances Repeal Of 90% Loss Deduction Rule
Pennsylvania's Online Casinos Reaped More In August Than A Year Earlier, Less Than The Month Prior
First Sportsbooks Sold Gambling, Now Gambling Sells Everything Else
Small stakes and hot takes
This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, presented in partnership with DraftKings Casino, I welcomed my colleague Daniel O'Boyle of InGame. One of the world’s foremost prediction markets journalists, he offered his insights on the record-setting weekend volume, the path to the Supreme Court, the controversial Sydney Sweeney ad for Novig, and more.
I also vented about a rug-pull in the first drawing of the new NFL-themed lottery game, and I celebrated my best DFS sweat and cash in a long time, with an outcome that helped justify a Sunday spent lazily watching football and second-screening.
Full episode:
The Shuffle: Other news and views
Resorts World Whistleblower Lawsuit Alleges Retaliation Over Suspicious Gamblers [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Kroy Biermann Ordered To Pay Massive Five-Figure Gambling Debt As Son KJ Granted $200K Bond [Page Six]
Fremont Street Benefited From Derek Stevens’ At Par Program [CDC Gaming]
Council Bluffs Breaks Ground On $200 Million Casino [WOWT 6]
Google Sets Unbreakable Rules For All Gambling Advertisers [SBC News]
Hundreds Of Culinary Union Workers Have Joined Protests Against Their Own Union. Why? [The Nevada Independent]
Governor Newsom Signs Agua Caliente Gaming Compact Amendment [KESQ 3]
Airfare To Las Vegas Soared By 20 Percent After Iran War Onset [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
South Lake Tahoe’s Mayor Barred From Entering Casino Corridor [The Mercury News]
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…
