T
he New Jersey Casino Control Commission canceled the October public meeting scheduled for Wednesday morning due to a lack of actionable agenda items, so the potential approval for the pending sale of Bally’s Atlantic City is being pushed back. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is November 18.
NJ state gaming regulators are expected to consider Twin River Worldwide Holdings’ intended $25 million purchase of Bally’s from Caesars Entertainment Inc. and VICI Properties before the end of the year. The deal, which would net VICI almost $19 million for the land and property and Caesars roughly $6 million, was announced in April.
A special meeting of the commission to consider granting TRWH interim casino authorization — a preliminary step toward full licensure — could be scheduled, The Press of Atlantic City reports. Caesars currently operates four of Atlantic City’s nine casinos — Bally’s, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Tropicana Atlantic City — following a $17 billion merger approved earlier this year. The expected sale of Bally’s was acknowledged by New Jersey gaming regulators in July, but was not mandated in order to complete the merger of Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Caesars will retain the Wild Wild West Casino concept and the William Hill Sportsbook — both are presently part of Bally’s — when the sale is completed. Executives with Rhode Island-based Twin River said the company will seek a sports betting license and wants to construct a new sportsbook for Bally’s. Other planned investment at Bally’s include refurbished rooms and additional suites, new restaurant brands, more gaming options, renovated meeting and convention space, and an “enhanced” spa and pool area, according to executives.
