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About Divine 9
Lead reporter Rebecca Liggero Fontana for taking me under her wing. You won’t meet a more generous soul than Becky. She shares this unbridled passion for the casino and tech space, that is just contagious and I’m glad I got to experience that unabashed joy for the gambling industry.
I want to thank Derek Tonin, my editor who I would speak with every day I worked at Calvinayre.com. I’m grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with Derek. He’s an editor who doesn’t shy away from the blunt criticism and its inspiring being on the other end of the call. He’s a guy you would want in the foxhole right next to you, someone who isn’t afraid to give the blunt truth and also celebrate the wins with you.
There’s a huge team of writers, video editors and IT developers who have made Calvinayre.com this huge success. Raise a glass to them, they have helped turn this site into the success that it is.
What is Divine 9?
The VGT dispute and construction reset are the latest chapters in a long and bumpy road for Bally’s since winning Chicago’s sole casino licence in 2022. Work has been halted for debris overflow and for unapproved contractors, and the company faced an $800 million funding gap that was eventually filled through a financing agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties. Potential interference with city water lines also necessitated a significant redesign of the hotel plan.
At one point, the IGB ordered a temporary work stoppage at Bally’s permanent casino following reports of alleged ties between an unapproved dumpster service with organised crime.
Bally’s has been granted two years’ worth of extensions for the permanent project. State law allows for two-year temporary licences, but the Illinois Gaming Board approved an extension to three years in 2023. That pushed the deadline to this September, but Bally’s ultimately received another year’s worth of extensions through language included in the state’s omnibus revenue bill that was passed in June.
How to play Divine 9
Genius founder and CEO Mark Locke this week touted Genius’ position as a provider of official data, settlement and integrity services to both traditional betting and predictions platforms.
“Through Legend and our wider media platform we help operators acquire the customers all of them are competing for,” he added in a personal LinkedIn post.
“That is why I see prediction markets as a net benefit for Genius. I believe they create more businesses to supply, more ways to monetise the same sports activity and more competition for the customers we help operators win,” Locke said.
