Bally’s Corp. has closed financing for two mega casino and resort complexes, using $1.1 billion in private credit loans, including to develop what the company says will be the largest-ever privately funded development in the Bronx.
That development, a 16-acre site known as Bally’s Bronx, is to the northeast of Manhattan along the East River, alongside a public golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus under the Whitestone Bridge that was once a landfill.
Bally’s purchased the golf course site from the Trump Organization in 2024, paying $60 million, according to The New York Times. Building the casino on the site will require the company to pay the Trump Organization an additional $115 million, according to the companies’ purchase agreement.
The $2.3 billion Bally’s Bronx project is part of a larger $4 billion investment, including licensing fees. Bally’s bid included a $765 million local benefits package that covers infrastructure and transit upgrades, funding for schools and organizations, NYPD substations, and more.
The project will require putting in a new overpass to relieve bridge congestion, upgrading drainage infrastructure, widening roads, and implementing safety features for pedestrians and cyclists.
Proceeds of the $1.1 billion private credit loan package that closed on Feb. 11 will finance the project. The loans will also support the development of another casino property, Bally’s Chicago, as well as refinance some of the company’s bank debt.
Pricing on the private credit loan is S+750, according to a recent regulatory filing. Up to 3.5% of its interest may be paid in-kind, with interest added to the principal balance. Maturity is February 2031.
Ares is leading the financing as administrative agent, with King Street Capital Management and TPG Credit acting as joint lead arrangers and bookrunners.
Lenders committed to a smaller loan of $600 million in July 2025, an amount that was increased to $1.1 billion in December 2025.
Bally’s Chicago will sit on the former lot of the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, which was demolished in 2024 to make way for the casino. Located along the bank of the Chicago River to the northwest of the city center, the project will host a 500-room hotel tower and space for roughly 3,400 slot machines and 170 table games.
The financing closed as Bally’s completed a $700 million sale-and-leaseback transaction with Gaming and Leisure Properties, a real estate investment trust (REIT), also to raise capital for the developments.
Bally’s sold its Twin River Lincoln Casino Resort property in Rhode Island to the REIT, and will pay an initial cash rent of $56 million per year to use the property.
Headquartered in Providence, R.I., Bally’s (NYSE: BALY) is a global gaming, hospitality and entertainment company with a portfolio of casinos, resorts, and online gaming businesses.
Featured Image by Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images
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