{"id":757,"date":"2025-04-02T20:03:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T20:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/?p=757"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:10:09","slug":"if-ballys-wins-bronx-casino-license-trump-gets-115m-windfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/if-ballys-wins-bronx-casino-license-trump-gets-115m-windfall\/","title":{"rendered":"If Bally\u2019s Wins Bronx Casino License, Trump Gets $115M Windfall"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Potential payment included in agreement to acquire golf course operating rights<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bally\u2019s bought lease rights for Ferry Point course in 2023<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>If Bally\u2019s is successful in procuring a Bronx casino license, that would mean a $115 million payday for the Trump Organization, which previously operated the golf course on which the gaming company is hoping to build a casino hotel.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_259395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-259395\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-259395 size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Bally&#039;s Bus\" width=\"858\" height=\"483\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Trump-858x483-1.jpg\"><figcaption>Bally&#8217;s Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, NY. The casino operator could pay an additional $115 million to the Trump Organization if it wins a New York gaming license. (Image: <em>Golf Digest<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In late 2023, the regional casino operator struck a deal with the president\u2019s business group &#8212; run by his two eldest sons &#8212; to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-buying-trump-golf-lease-in-bid-for-bronx-casino\/\">acquire the lease<\/a> on Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. At that time, it was believed the purchase price was $60 million, but the agreement included a clause under which Bally\u2019s would pay an additional $115 million to the Trump Organization if a gaming venue is eventually built on the property.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p>Bally\u2019s further agrees that in the event that any Bally\u2019s Entity is awarded, granted, assigned or otherwise receives (including, without limitation, being selected or announced as the successful bidder in a request for offer or request for proposal process or otherwise) a non-appealable Gaming License (a \u2018Gaming Event\u2019), then Bally\u2019s shall make a separate non-refundable payment to Trump in the amount of $115 million,\u201d according to a June 2023 letter from Donald Trump Jr. to then Bally\u2019s President George Papanier.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To the delight of some Bronx-area and New York City politicians, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/trump-name-likely-to-be-yanked-from-ballys-bronx-casino\/\">Bally\u2019s made good on its promise<\/a> to pull the Trump name from the golf course, doing so in January 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>If Bally\u2019s Wins Bronx Casino Bid, it Has to Quickly Pay Trump<\/h2>\n<p>Rhode Island-based Bally\u2019s is among 11 bidders pursuing three downstate casino licenses and if it\u2019s successful in its quest, it would need to remit that $115 million payment to the Trump Organization or risk being subject to hefty interest penalties.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>In Trump Jr.\u2019s letter to Papanier, the former states that the gaming company has 10 days to send that payment \u201cfollowing the occurrence of an Extension Event or Gaming Event.\u201d If Bally\u2019s fails to make that payment, it\u2019d be subject to a 10% annual interest penalty \u201ccalculated on the basis of actual days elapsed, based on a 360-day year, from the due date to the date of payment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>That letter, like the golf course itself, has some interesting history. It was presented as evidence in the state\u2019s suit against President Trump in which it alleged he willfully inflated the value of Trump Organization assets to gain better loan terms from banks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Prior to Trump winning the 2016 presidential election, his company and the city worked out an agreement to extend the lease on Ferry Point by 20 years, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-name-officially-adorns-former-trump-golf-course-in-bronx\/\">after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot<\/a> at the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, then New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) attempted to halt the city\u2019s agreement with Trump\u2019s company. In April 2022, a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ruled that de Blasio overstepped his authority, allowing the golf course to remain under Trump\u2019s control.<\/p>\n<h2>Some Momentum for Bronx Casino Effort<\/h2>\n<p>While the competition for the three downstate licenses is fierce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bronx-community-board-says-no-to-ballys-casino\/\">and there\u2019s some opposition<\/a> to a Bronx casino, there are also tailwinds for the effort.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Earlier this week, Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblyman Mike Benedetto &#8212; two Democrats that represent the area including the golf course &#8212; introduced legislation that could pave the way for stripping the property of its parkland designation. Without that classification being altered, Bally\u2019s would be unable to pursue a gaming license.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The company also recently said that it would like to sell up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-wants-bronx-residents-to-enjoy-economic-spoils-of-casino\/\">a 10% equity stake<\/a> in the Bronx casino hotel to Bronx residents.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/if-ballys-wins-bronx-casino-license-trump-gets-115m-windfall\/\">If Bally\u2019s Wins Bronx Casino License, Trump Gets $115M Windfall<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Potential payment included in agreement to acquire golf course operating rights Bally\u2019s bought lease rights for Ferry Point course in 2023 If Bally\u2019s is successful in procuring a Bronx casino license, that would mean a $115 million payday for the Trump Organization, which previously operated the golf course on which the gaming company is hoping to build a casino hotel. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":760,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}