The name has changed — from Dover Downs Hotel and Casino to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort — but the hotel and casino are still the largest in Delaware and are better than ever.
The resort became the property of Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) in 2019 and was renamed Bally’s Dover in November 2021, as Twin River became known as Bally’s Corporation. A gaming, betting and interactive entertainment company headquartered in Rhode Island, Bally’s has grown rapidly in the last three years and now owns and operates 14 casinos in 10 states.
Bally’s Dover Casino Resort is also growing, said Nick Polcino, vice president and general manager, who started in the industry as a table games dealer in Atlantic City in 1979. Polcino worked his way up the management structure in Atlantic City and at properties in Mississippi, Colorado and Nevada.
Nick Polcino welcomes you to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort. Photo by Bernard Carr
Nick’s association with Bally’s began in 2015, when the company was still TRWH and had acquired Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was the vice president of Casino Operations and Player Development at Hard Rock until 2019, when Bally’s promoted him to be vice president and general manager of Dover Downs Casino in Dover. As the company portfolio expanded, Nick went to Atlantic City shortly after the pandemic, but returned to Bally’s Dover earlier this year. “Now I’m back here, for good, I hope,” Polcino said.
Whether you are traveling to the area or you live here, Bally’s Dover would like to welcome you for a visit. Stop by and check out the hotel, the restaurants and the gaming area. You won’t be disappointed.
“There are new things coming to the property in 2023,” he added. All sorts
of plans are on the drawing board, some of which were put on the back burner during the pandemic. The casino floor has been completely redone, from actual flooring material to the layout, with a lot of Asian games added.
The hotel at Bally’s Dover offers 500 comfortable, modern rooms and deluxe amenities such as a full-service spa, fitness room, indoor swimming pool, and more.
Of course, you don’t have to stay overnight to enjoy the action at the casino, where you’ll find all your favorite table games, tournaments and over 2,000 slot machines, including progressives.
Be sure to give yourself plenty of time during your visit to explore all that Bally’s Dover Casino Resort has to offer.
Bally’s Dover Casino Resort features live harness racing from November through March. Its generous purses attract the finest teams on the East Coast and beyond. Simulcast harness and thoroughbred racing are available year-round in the Sports Book.
What’s a night out without a good meal? At Bally’s Dover you’ll find a diverse and enticing selection of restaurants with some of the best food in Delaware. The newest is the Royal Prime Steakhouse, where you can enjoy a meal worthy of royalty. Or visit Jerry Longo’s Meatballs and Martinis and the Sugar Factory. Both are sure to please. The Sugar Factory was named “The Most Instagrammed Restaurant in the United States” by Food & Wine Magazine. Enjoy your drink in the Carousel Bar area or eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner in a 250-seat dining room.
Live entertainment continues. “Gladys Knight is coming in October to the Rollins Center,” Polcino said. The seven-time Grammy winner will perform Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. and tickets are on sale now.
While the folks at Bally’s Dover can boast about some of the finest rooms, restaurants and gaming available in the state, what they really want you to know is how much they care and are deeply committed to their community as well. Not only do they donate financially to the numerous requests throughout the year, but they also give freely with their volunteer time to those same organizations, sometimes physically getting down and dirty for a cause — Earth Day 2022 with the city of Dover for example. The Bally’s CREW (Community Resources, Employee Wellness) team rolled up their sleeves, and picked up their rakes and trash bags for a park cleanup day at Silver Lake Park in Dover. It was Mallard Pond Park the year prior, with over a dozen team members helping to pick up trash, plant trees and mulch the entire area.
Adopt-A-Highway is another not-so-clean project the CREW does a few times a year. The team removed almost 30 bags of trash on their first cleanup event and continue to remove at least a dozen bags each trip thereafter.
Every other month the CREW volunteers at the Food Bank of Delaware in Milford, packing hundreds of boxes each visit for distribution throughout the state. Through multiple collection events during the past two years, the employees have donated over 2,000 pounds of food to organizations such as Code Purple and the Food Bank.
They have also participated in collections for winter clothing and school supply drives — collecting thousands of items to donate locally. Whether it is planning a Fireworks event for the community, a porch beautification project for a senior living center, cooking and serving a meal for a homeless shelter, or one of the many projects throughout the year, this team is committed to helping. The financial donations and sponsorships are equally important to so many organizations: Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity, BayHealth, city of Dover Parks and Recreation, Meals on Wheels, athletic organizations, just to name a few.
“It is our responsibility as one of the largest companies in the county to give back to the community,” Polcino said.
