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What is Year Of The Dragon King?
Papanier said the components of Bally’s Chicago that are being “reset and re-contemplated” are “all in conjunction with the proliferation of VGTs”. While the current number of licences is low, he asserted that widespread proliferation could result in a “30% to 50% impact on top-line revenue” for the casino and it would be “irresponsible” to continue construction “until we understand what the landscape looks like”.
Bally’s stock jumped 7% in trading on Monday to $9.84. Shares had fallen 30% in the last month in response to uncertainty in Chicago and warnings about the company’s ability to continue as a growing concern in its Q2 earnings report. Former CFO Mira Mircheva resigned on 4 September, prompting Papanier to take over the role on an interim basis.
The VGT dispute and construction reset are the latest chapters in a long and bumpy road for Bally’s since winning Chicago’s sole casino licence in 2022. Work has been halted for debris overflow and for unapproved contractors, and the company faced an $800 million funding gap that was eventually filled through a financing agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties. Potential interference with city water lines also necessitated a significant redesign of the hotel plan.
About Year Of The Dragon King
Wynn forfeited $130 million to the federal government for a slew of proxy betting violations, which was “believed to be the largest forfeiture by a casino based on admissions of criminal wrongdoing”, per federal prosecutors.
Internally, the board has also been hard at work revising and overhauling several sets of regulations, including rules for gaming salons, AML reporting and now technical standards. Dreitzer represents the fifth NGCB chair to take office since 2019, and the partial term he inherited runs through January 2027.
He told iGB earlier this year he’d “certainly be interested” in a full four-year term after the current one expires. With a background in suppliers and testing labs, Dreitzer is acutely aware of the technical challenges facing the state.
About Year Of The Dragon King
“At that point, we sort of knew of the opportunity, but it wasn’t specifically factored into the guidance necessarily,” he stated. “But I think when we set the guidance, we saw there are ambitious targets, and there were not necessarily specific contributors in terms of how you’re going to get there other than looking at the overall opportunities across the group.
“Where we’ll revisit the targets at the full-year results, I think that will probably be the logical time to more explicitly factor Brazil into any revised targets we might potentially issue at that point in time. But I think that should only enhance how the business is currently doing and frankly, enhance probably what the current market expectations are for the group in the years ahead.”
The ongoing dispute between Evolution and Playtech continues to rumble on.