Bally's Draws $400M From WhiteHawk for Bronx Casino Prep

Bally’s Corporation has drawn $400 million from WhiteHawk Capital Partners to pay pre-construction costs on its Bally’s Bronx casino, the company said in an 8-K filed October 2. The closing-date term loan was fully funded October 1, and a further $160 million of delayed-draw commitments remain available for future draws.

For developers and lenders, the takeaway is that the money is flowing before the build financing exists: the filing ties these proceeds to pre-construction costs, with a portion applied to general corporate purposes including closing fees and expenses.

Why it matters

Bally’s did not simply close the facility it signed in September. The 8-K says an amended and restated loan agreement “amended and restated in its entirety” the loan and security agreement dated September 4, 2026, with WhiteHawk acting as agent for the lenders. We covered the signing in our September 14 report; this filing is the funding step that followed. Read alongside our New York coverage, it shows a sponsor paying for design, site and entitlement work with private credit rather than waiting for senior construction debt.

The numbers

The company’s press release attached to the 8-K describes the Bronx project as a $4.0 billion integrated casino resort expected to open in 2030, with 3 million square feet of gaming facilities, a 500-room hotel, a 2,000-person event center and an 18-hole golf course. Total available capital under the facility is $560 million, which is $400 million funded plus $160 million undrawn.

The $400 million equals about 10 percent of the stated $4.0 billion project cost. Per-room and per-square-foot figures would not be meaningful here, because the filing does not allocate the loan to the hotel, gaming or golf components. The 8-K excerpt we reviewed does not state the interest rate or maturity of the amended agreement, so we do not restate the terms reported for the September deal. Bally’s says the full agreement will be filed as an exhibit to its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory served as financial advisor and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP as legal advisor, per the release.

What’s next

Watch the 10-Q for the amended agreement’s full terms, including pricing, maturity and collateral. Also watch how fast the $160 million delayed-draw is pulled, since that pace shows how close Bally’s is to arranging construction-phase capital for the remaining roughly $3.6 billion of the stated cost.