Bally’s buying Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, a Sin City namesake, is being sold to a new entrant among Las Vegas Boulevard resort owners.

Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corp. announced Tuesday that it will acquire the property from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for about $308 million.

The agreement for the nearly 1,500-room hotel, casino, theater and convention property also involves a saleand-leaseback transaction relating to Bally’s Black Hawk, Colo., and Rock Island, Ill., casino properties, the company said.

“Landing a preeminent spot on the Las Vegas Strip is a key step for us,” George Papanier, Bally’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Bally’s Corp. does not own Bally’s Las Vegas on the Strip. That 2,800-room property at Flamingo Road is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Inc.

Papanier noted that Las Vegas draws more than 40 million tourists a year and said owning the Tropicana will boost Bally’s customer and player databases, unlock marketing opportunities and benefit Bally’s online and interactive business.

Bally’s also announced a deal to combine with London-based online gambling operator Gamesys Group plc.

Neil Goulden, Gamesys chairman, said in a statement that the recommended cash offer, including a Gamesys fiscal 2020 dividend, provides a 41.2% premium to the Gamesys share price at the time of the original proposal from Bally’s. Gamesys shareholders can elect to convert holdings to Bally’s shares.

The Bally’s-Tropicana transaction is expected to close early next year. The company said the price for Tropicana property non-land assets was $150 million, and Bally’s plans to lease the land underlying the Tropicana property from Gaming and Leisure Properties for an initial term of 50 years at $10.5 million in annual rent.

Bally’s owns and manages 12 casinos in eight states, including Bally’s Atlantic City in New Jersey.