Waiting for Tropicana sale to close

Enjoy the Tropicana name in Las Vegas while you can, because the only place you might see it soon is on street signs. In an interview this week with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Bally’s chairman Soohyung Kim said once it takes ownership of the Tropicana Las Vegas on the south end of the Strip, it will begin redevelopment of the property.

One change will “almost certainly” be rebranding it as Bally’s, doing away with the famous name.

complete renovation of the Trop or even raze the entire resort and start from scratch

Bally’s has no set plans for the Tropicana yet. Aside from the likely name change, everything is on the table. The company could embark on a complete renovation of the Trop or even raze the entire resort and start from scratch with their own vision.

“We’re open to it all,” Kim said, adding that it is entirely possible that starting from the ground-up could be a way to “maximize value.”

Bally’s could end up going private

Whether or not the Tropicana changes happen while Kim is just a board member or the owner of Bally’s Corporation remains to be seen. On Tuesday, Kim, the managing partner of Standard General, wrote to Bally’s board of directors offering to purchase the remaining shares that Standard does not own for $38 per share. Standard General is Bally’s largest shareholder, owning more than 20% of the company.

The offer was a massive 30% premium over Bally’s Monday closing price. The markets reacted very favorably to the news, as Bally’s closed up 22.65% on Tuesday. Kim and Standard General would take Bally’s private.

Kim told the Review-Journal that the proposed buyout has “no bearing” on Bally’s continued work toward closing on the Tropicana purchases. Regardless of what happens with his offer, Bally’s has “some big plans that are being worked on” for the property.

Casino name musical chairs

Though many locals and fans of Las Vegas might be sad to see the Tropicana go, whether it’s in name or physical form, the move makes sense for Bally’s. The Bally’s name itself is well-known in the gambling world, but is about to disappear from Las Vegas, at least for a little while. This week, Caesars Entertainment announced that it will rebrand its Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino to Horseshoe Las Vegas in the spring.

As odd as it sounds that Caesars owns a Bally’s property, it is just the result of corporate dealing. In October 2020, what was then called Twin River Worldwide Holdings acquired the Bally’s brand from Caesars for $20m. Twin River changed its named to the more recognized Bally’s and later rebranded its casinos as Bally’s properties.

As part of the deal with Caesars, Twin River allowed Caesars to keep the name Bally’s on its Las Vegas property. Despite that, it was unlikely that Caesars would keep the Bally’s moniker on the casino permanently now that a competitor owned the name.

With Caesars’ rebranding of Bally’s Las Vegas to Horseshoe Las Vegas, the name is now free for Bally’s Corporation to use on the Tropicana.