Last month, I was joined by Rhode Island house speaker Joseph Shekarchi, senate president Dominick Ruggerio, and senate majority leader Michael McCaffrey as we welcomed Adi Dhandhania, COO North America Interactive for Bally’s Corp., and his team to Warwick. Bally’s new office, in Building A at the Metro Center II office park at 475 Kilvert St., is on the outskirts of City Centre Warwick and will bring 55 new, high-paying jobs to our community.
Bally’s new interactive tech hub will occupy roughly 10,000 s/f on the top floor of the building. Tech hub employees will be engaged in the interactive world, which, according to Dhandhania, includes “sports betting, i-gaming, free-to-play games, daily fantasy sports and viewer engagement technology.”
While Bally’s – formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc. – has corporate offices in Providence and operates two casinos in Rhode Island – helping to support the state’s third largest revenue stream – Warwick was an ideal location for the company’s tech hub. Our central location in the heart of southern New England and our multi-modal transportation options are, once again, proving to be an attractive benefit for companies seeking a convenient and affordable location in which to do business. “This was a particularly attractive location for us with its close proximity to the highway, train station and airport as many of our Interactive Tech Hub employees are coming in from multiple locations, including the U.K.,” said Dhandhania.
Bally’s prides its successes thus far on their expertise, which includes access to capital, a strong, visionary leadership team, its high-end properties, and strong operating performance. To date, Bally’s includes some 15,800 slot machines, over 5,000 hotel rooms, 500 table games, and it owns and manages a Colorado horse racetrack and 14 casinos among ten states. Some of its other holdings include an online gaming operator, a first-in-class sports betting platform, a daily, North America-based fantasy sports site, free-to-play games and the ability to provide real-time fan engagement solutions. In addition, Bally’s holds OSB licenses in 15 states. Presently, the company employees roughly 10,000 employees throughout the Bally’s portfolio.
The celebration at Bally’s was just one of a number of ribbon cuttings we’ve had the pleasure of attending in recent weeks, as we welcomed a variety of new businesses and non-profits to Warwick, including the National Elevator Industry Educational Program, DMPFit, Bark `N Park, Parkinson’s Center, and BankNewport. These all represent the diversity of our local business community, and the success that the variety of small businesses, regional, national, and global companies find right here in Warwick.
If you’re interested in how we can help you move to – and succeed in – Warwick, please call the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Development at (401) 738-2014, or email [email protected].
On behalf of my family, and everyone here at Warwick City Hall, I’d like to wish you, your families and colleagues a very happy holiday season and a New Year filled with great blessings, good health, and personal and professional fulfillment.
Frank Picozzi is the mayor of the city of Warwick, R.I.