Tim Bollmann has been in Evansville only four years, but he’s well-versed in the city’s gaming history along Riverside Drive. Known as Bally’s Evansville since Bollmann’s 2021 arrival, the state’s first casino is going strong in its third decade. “We are a big part of Downtown Evansville and we want to support the community,” the general manager says. “I think that’s shone through in the last 30 years.”
The Casino Aztar riverboat opened in 1995 after the passage of the Indiana Riverboat Gambling Act on July 1, 1993. Ownership changed in 2013 to Tropicana Evansville, which in 2017 moved operations ashore after a 2015 state law amendment allowing land-based casinos. It has attracted a steady workforce that includes Stacey McNeill, whose passion for gaming drew her to the casino when it was known locally as “The Boat.” Hired that first year as a slot attendant, she’s now executive director of marketing.
“I have met so many fantastic people throughout my 30-year career with Casino Aztar, Tropicana, and now Bally’s,” McNeill says. “Every day is a new story, and that continues to be one of the most satisfying aspects of this business for me.”
The legal gaming environment is more crowded now than 30 years ago. Despite Ellis Park Racing & Gaming adding historical horse racing machines and sports betting in Henderson and Owensboro, Kentucky, and new casinos opening in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Illinois communities, Bollmann says Bally’s Evansville remains in a strong position. “It comes down to the business of people: relationships and the way people feel when they come here,” he says. “That’s what we need to focus on in the future.”
