Bally’s completes purchase of Northern Nevada casino-resort

Providence, Rhode Island-based Bally’s — which is not affiliated with the Strip resort of the same name — said Wednesday that it had closed on the purchase of the Stateline property from Caesars Entertainment Inc.

The $155 million purchase was part of a two-property package deal, sold as the former Eldorado Resorts worked to divest properties ahead of its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corp. last year.

Bally’s President and CEO George Papanier said the property advances the company’s ongoing portfolio diversification strategy. The company has turned heads in recent months after announcing several sizable acquisitions, including sports betting and iGaming technology provider Bet.Works, daily fantasy platform Monkey Knife Fight and free-to-play game provider SportCaller.

MontBleu, the company’s most recent purchase to close, sits just minutes from Lake Tahoe and includes about 418 slot machines, 17 table games, 483 hotel rooms and 14,000 square feet of convention, meeting and exhibition space.

“MontBleu is a premier entertainment asset that is commensurate with the iconic Bally’s brand,” Papanier said in a news release. “With the close of this transaction, we look forward to integrating the property into the Bally’s family, and utilizing it as an attractive destination for our loyal Bally’s customers to drive visitation to Lake Tahoe.”

This isn’t Bally’s first deal with Caesars; the gaming company, formerly Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc., purchased its new name from Caesars in November.

Bally’s owns and manages 12 casinos across eight states and a horse racetrack, but is set to see its portfolio grow to 15 casinos across 11 states once pending acquisitions and construction projects close.

Bally’s shares were down 2.8 percent Wednesday morning, trading at $62.61 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.