Bally’s Entertainment’s (Bally’s) $4 billion bid to build a casino in the heart of the Bronx was dealt a possibly fatal blow by the New York City Council.
After a heated vote by New York councillors, they decided to deny the plans laid out for possible rezoning to accommodate the billion-dollar project. The vote was 29-9 against, with four abstentions, which puts any development, plans, or progress on the location on hold indefinitely.
Bally’s casino bid dealt a blow
Council member Kristy Marmorato, who represents the district where the prospective Bally’s project would have taken place, was opposed to the rezoning. She took to social media in response to the victory over the development proposal.
THIS IS WHAT COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION LOOKS LIKE!
We fought, we won, and we will continue to work together to keep District 13 the safe, prosperous, and beauty it is!
D13, this one is for YOU!
https://t.co/UGdRpHkkUw
— Kristy Marmorato (@KristyforNY) July 14, 2025
Councilwoman Marmorato said, “If I make a promise to my community, I follow it through. We won’t win every battle, but we will always fight for what is right.”
The Chair of Bally’s, Soo Kim, was disappointed in the vote, saying, “We had met the council members’ request in terms of what exceptional community benefits they wanted. That ask was moving the goalposts from the prior ask, which we had met as well.”
The tale of Bally’s V New York Council
The tale of Bally’s and the New York City Council has been a frustrating one for both parties, unfolding throughout the year, with a temporary halt to the casino proposal based on the legal “home rule”, stopping it from reaching the chamber floor by Speaker Adrienne Adams in May 2025.
Progress was further complicated by the fact that the current president was set to benefit financially from any casino license awarded to Bally’s. A $115 million windfall would be given to the acting POTUS if the golf course at Ferry Point, which President Donald Trump formerly owned, became a licensed entertainment venue.
Eric Adams, the incumbent Mayor of New York City, supported the decision to move forward with the project in mid-June 2025. The vote to bypass the home rule was progressed with 32 in favour and 12 against, with seven abstentions.
Bally’s confidently launched new proposed features of the location in a company press release, saying, “Bally’s is betting big on the Bronx, unveils $4 billion vision to transform the borough – the largest private investment in Bronx history.”
Bally’s has been incredibly active across 2025, with most of the global entertainment brand’s land-based operations being sold to Intralot. As we reported, the Intralot merger deal was valued at $3.4 billion and resulted in Intralot’s LotosX and PlayerX systems being integrated with Bally’s International Interactive’s Vitruvian data analytics platform.
With such a significant blow to this development project and the sale of all the land-based operations in the Bally’s portfolio, both Soo Kim and the New York Council will possibly meet again to revive the $4 billion deal.
Featured image: Bally’s Entertainment official
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