Why Caesars Sold Bally's Atlantic City for $25M — and Bally's Promptly Spent $100M Bringing It Back
Caesars sold Bally's Atlantic City for $25M in 2020 — roughly the value of a single year of free play distributed at Bellagio. The buyer renamed themselves Bally's Corporation and spent four times that on renovations.
Caesars (post-Eldorado merger) was forced by antitrust regulators to divest one AC property. They picked Bally's because it was their weakest performer in the market. Twin River Worldwide Holdings (a Rhode Island-based regional operator) bought it for $25M in November 2020. Twin River then renamed itself Bally's Corporation in 2021 — they kept the famous brand and built an entire holding company around it. Bally's AC has spent ~$100M on renovations since acquisition.
When Eldorado Resorts bought Caesars Entertainment in 2020, the merged company suddenly owned 4 of Atlantic City's 9 casinos: Caesars AC, Harrah's, Tropicana, and Bally's. New Jersey's antitrust review forced a divestiture. Caesars chose to sell Bally's.
Why Bally's was the one to go
Of the four AC properties Caesars owned post-merger, Bally's was the lowest revenue performer:
Bally's was also the most physically dated property. The original tower opened in 1979, the Wild Wild West expansion in 1997. The casino floor had not been substantially renovated since 2004.
Twin River pays $25M
Twin River Worldwide Holdings, a Rhode Island operator that ran Twin River Casino Lincoln and Tiverton in RI plus Hard Rock Biloxi (under license), agreed to buy Bally's AC for $25M cash in April 2020. The deal closed November 2020.
For context: $25M is what a single high-roller plays through Bellagio in a slow week. Caesars sold an entire AC casino for less than the cost of a typical celebrity-headliner contract.
Twin River becomes Bally's Corporation
The most interesting move came in 2021. Twin River — a small regional operator most people had never heard of — renamed itself Bally's Corporation to leverage the brand. They built an entire identity around the Bally's name: Bally's Atlantic City, Bally's Twin River Lincoln, Bally's Dover, Bally's Black Hawk, Bally's Las Vegas (which it bought from Caesars in 2022), Bally Sports (the regional sports network they later acquired and then divested).
The strategy: take a famous name, build a national operator on top of it, and ride the brand recognition into IPO valuations. The strategy partially worked — Bally's Corp is now publicly traded with about 15 properties.
What changed at Bally's AC
Bally's Corp spent roughly $100M on the AC property between 2021-2024:
- Full renovation of the original tower rooms (2022)
- New Carousel restaurant + Bally's Steak (2022-23)
- Renamed the Wild Wild West casino floor as "Bally's Wild Wild West" with new theming (2023)
- New high-limit slot floor (2024)
- Pickleball courts on the boardwalk (yes, really, 2024)
The property's gaming revenue went from $152M in 2019 to about $210M in 2024 — a 38% increase, in a market that grew 15% over the same period. So real organic growth above the market average.
What this means for the loyalty program
This is the part that confuses regular AC players. Pre-2020, Bally's AC was a Caesars Rewards property. Post-2020, it isn't. Bally's AC now uses a separate Bally's Rewards loyalty program that does NOT cross-pool with Caesars Rewards.
If you have Caesars Diamond, that status no longer means anything at Bally's AC. You're a brand new player.
For most casual AC visitors this is bad news — one less property in the Caesars network. For Bally's Corp it's the whole point. They want to build their own player database, not rent Caesars'.
Should you actually play at Bally's AC?
Bally's AC in 2026 is competitive but not exceptional. The renovations have raised it from "tired" to "decent." The location is the best on the boardwalk — direct boardwalk access, between Caesars and Resorts. The comp economics for the Bally's Rewards program at the AC property are fine but not market-leading.
Our take: if you're staying on the boardwalk and want a non-Caesars option, Bally's beats Resorts but is a tier below Hard Rock and Ocean. See our 2026 AC casino guide for the full ranking.
Topics
- ballys
- atlantic-city
- caesars
- industry