Bally’s Corp. announced Monday it signed a framework agreement with real estate developer Ira Lubert to open an estimated $120 million casino at the Nittany Mall in State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Bally’s will jointly design, develop and construct the casino with Lubert, who was recently awarded the right to apply for a Category 4 slot machine license for a casino by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
A Category 4 license permits licensees to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines, and petition to operate up to 30 table games.
“There is no question that legalization of online gambling and sports betting makes Pennsylvania an attractive gaming market, and one that Bally’s had been eyeing for some time,” Bally’s CEO George Papanier said in an email.
He credited Lubert, who maintains “significant ties to the Centre County community.”
“We look forward to working with him and using this transformative project to have a positive impact on the redevelopment of that community,” Papanier said.
Lubert was a minority founding investor in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh and a developer of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Montgomery County.
“I am excited to have Bally’s as our partner to complement our vision, industry experience, and said financing capabilities,” he said in a statement. “Together, I believe we will make this transformative project successful for all stakeholders and look forward to the positive impact the redevelopment will have on the community.”
The proposed casino will be the 13th in Pennsylvania and first in the commonwealth for Bally’s, which has 11 casinos in seven states, including Bally’s Atlantic City.
The closest casinos to the proposed Centre County site are the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Dauphin County (109 miles), and Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County (114 miles).
“That area is an underserved region within Pennsylvania’s attractive gaming market, and we look forward to bringing our first-class amenities and offerings to the Centre County community,” Papanier said. “We see a bright future for gaming in Pennsylvania, especially given the explosive growth of sports betting and online gaming, and we’re excited to be part of that.”
Another attractive element of the State College location is its proximity to Penn State University, which has one of the most rabid collegiate football fan bases in the country. Home games at Beaver Stadium routinely draw more than 110,000 fans, and Centre County residents split their allegiances between the professional sports teams in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
“We believe that once we are operational, the casino’s sports betting and online gaming offerings will have tremendous appeal,” Papanier said, adding that Bally’s is working to secure regulatory approval for sports betting, online sports betting, and online Bally’s gaming at the new site.
Doug Harbach, director of communications for Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board, confirmed that Lubert had been awarded the license at an auction in early September. Approval is pending receipt of the application due in early March.
Lubert paid a more than $10 million fee for the slot machine license, Harbach said, and will also pay an additional fee for a table game license at a price to be determined.
The estimated total cost of the project, including construction, licensing and sports betting/iGaming operations, will be approximately $120 million.
Bally’s will acquire a majority equity interest in the partnership, including all the economic interests of all retail sports betting, online sports betting, and iGaming activities associated with the project.
Papanier hopes that the casino will be able to host patrons sometime during the first half of 2022 when health risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic are hopefully reduced.
“We do not believe [the pandemic] presents a risk to the project,” Papanier said. “We have successfully operated our bricks-and-mortar properties throughout the pandemic while complying with all CDC mandates and local government protocols. As such, we are confident that if COVID-19 remains a factor when this project opens, we will be prepared to operate it in a manner that is safe for our customers and employees, and that generates value for our stakeholders.”
Shares of Bally’s, traded on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at 46.53, down $3.70, or 7.37%.
