In a $700 million transaction, Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) has purchased the real estate of Bally’s Lincoln in Rhode Island. It will be leased back to Bally’s at an annual rent of $56 million, plus annual escalators.
The deal brings to five the number of Bally’s branded-casinos owned by GLPI. As part of a Bally’s master lease, the agreement runs through 2039, with four five-year renewal options.
The real estate investment trust announced, “The transaction is primarily funded through debt and is expected to be immediately accretive to GLPI’s adjusted funds from operation.” It is expected to bring GLPI’s debt-to-cash flow ratio up to five or 5.5 times cash flow.
GLPI acquires a 190-site in Lincoln, along with a 165,000-square-foot casino. Bally’s Lincoln deploys 3,900 slots and 118 table games. It also has a 136-room hotel, convention center, and spa, along with a sportsbook and various dining options.
In a formal statement, GLPI CEO Peter Carlino said the deal “adds a premier asset, in the healthy Rhode Island gaming market, to the GLPI portfolio. Bally’s Lincoln further expands our relationship with Bally’s, adding a fifth asset to our Bally’s Master Lease II.
Continued Carlino, “Bally’s Lincoln is one of the top-performing regional casino properties in the U.S., having generated over $490 million in gross gaming revenue in 2025. With its accessibility to Route 146 and located approximately five miles north of Providence, it’s a premier regional destination.”
For its part, Bally’s disclosed a new $1.1 billion term loan, due in 2031. Its financiers are a consortium of Ares Management Credit, King Street Capital Management, and TPG Credit.
The newly obtained money is targeted for the completion of $1.7 billion Bally’s Chicago and $4 billion Bally’s Bronx. No mention was made of $2.2 billion Bally’s Las Vegas, ostensibly to have started construction earlier this winter.
Portions of the term loan will go toward retiring almost $1.5 billion in long-term debt. The overhang will also be paid down with the proceeds of Bally’s sale of its overseas digital assets to Intralot.
Deutsche Bank analyst Steven Pizzella pegged the annual cash flow of Bally’s Lincoln at $106 million, extrapolating that from the $700 million purchase price. He said the acquisition “provides GLPI with solid accretion. … Overall, we view the transaction positively,” Pizzella concluded.
