Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim’s Hedge Fund Completes Bally Corp. Buyout

It’s official: Bally’s Corp announced Thursday that it had accepted a buyout offer from Standard General, the hedge fund of Bally’s chairman Soo Kim. This deal was unanimously recommended by Bally’s special committee and approved by the board of directors. 

As part of the deal, Bally’s stockholders received $18.25 per share, and Bally’s will merge with The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., which Standard General also owns. 

What does this deal mean for Bally’s Atlantic City?

For starters, Standard General is set to obtain $500 million in financial support, according to a press release posted by Bally’s. 

That press release, though, did not provide specifics for Bally’s Atlantic City because it is a national brand. 

Still, Robinson Reeves, Bally’s CEO, provided insight into how the New Jersey online casino ecosystem could be impacted. 

Robeson Reeves, Bally’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “...With QC&E’s development pipeline recently completed or already well underway, we see a path toward additional revenue and EBITDAR growth and value accretion as those projects are completed in 2025. We look forward to bringing our ultimate vision to bear and to working closely with the Standard General team to execute on that vision.”

This could signal that Bally’s will become more involved in the online casino market, but it remains to be seen. 

More About Bally's in Atlantic City, NJ

There are nine retail casinos in Atlantic City today, and only two have been in business longer than Bally’s. 

Bally’s opened in Atlantic City in 1979, but since 2016, only Resorts has performed worse than them revenue-wise. 

Since 2016, Bally’s has racked up $1.4 billion in revenue.

In 2024, it’s at $71.6 million, the lowest of all retail casinos. This comes after 2023 saw them bring in $155.2 million, which was second-lowest. 

As for Bally’s Online Casino brought in $5.5 million, which was in the upper third of the market, but it’s still leagues away from the top dogs. In fact, $5.5 million was just 3% of the market. 

In shutting down its sportsbook operations last year and implementing this buyout, Bally’s could push more chips into the iGaming pile to see where it lands.