Navigating liquidity issues, a showdown with Chicago over video gambling terminals and a dispute with contractors at its $1.7 billion casino construction site, Bally’s is facing a new challenge: replacing its chief financial officer.

Bally’s announced the departure Thursday of Mira Mircheva, who is stepping down as CFO effective immediately for “personal reasons,” according to a news release.

“On behalf of the entire Board and executive management team, I want to thank Mira for her dedication to Bally’s and we wish her great success going forward,” Robeson Reeves, CEO of Rhode-Island-based Bally’s Corporation, said in the release.

George Papanier, president of land-based casinos and a longtime Bally’s executive, will take on the additional role of interim CFO while the board searches for a permanent successor, the company said.

Mircheva joined Bally’s in the February 2025 merger with Queen Casino & Entertainment, which operated four casinos in three states, including DraftKings at Casino Queen in East St. Louis. New York hedge fund Standard General owned 25% of Bally’s and a majority stake in Queen Casino prior to the merger.

Standard General now owns about two-thirds of publicly traded Bally’s.

Formerly a partner at Standard General, Mircheva served as CFO at Queen Casino from 2023 to 2025, taking over the role at Bally’s post-merger, replacing Marcus Glover. She will remain with Bally’s through Sept. 30 to “ensure a seamless leadership transition,” the company said.

While she has stepped down as CFO, Mircheva will assist the finance department and Papanier to close out the quarter and give Bally’s time to launch a formal search for her permanent successor, the company said.

Her abrupt exit from the C-suite at Bally’s nonetheless comes at a difficult time for the company, which is navigating a tsunami of recent financial and legal challenges, with its flagship Chicago casino at the center of the storm.

Embroiled in a battle with the city over the advent of video gambling terminals, Bally’s slowed construction last month at its $1.7 billion casino complex going up at the former Tribune printing plant in River West.

On Aug. 8, Bally’s Chicago sent a reset notice to the Chicago Community Builders Collective, the general contracting partnership overseeing construction, putting everything from the 34-story hotel and events center to a number of planned restaurants on hold, citing City Council’s approval of VGTs as a violation of its host agreement.

Bally’s Chicago is also engaged in a dispute with MGM Excavating, a former contractor that filed a mechanics lien in Cook County Circuit Court seeking $3.8 million owed for work at the casino complex construction site.

Perhaps more concerning to investors, on Aug. 17, Bally’s issued a going concern warning as part of a second-quarter earnings report, saying it needed to raise cash by early next year to stay in compliance with lenders.

Bally’s Chicago is scheduled for a Sept. 9 hearing in front of the City Council to address its financial position, the VGT dispute and the casino company’s capacity to fulfill the Host Community Agreement to build Chicago’s first casino.

Chris Jewett, Bally’s senior vice president of corporate development, and Kim Barker, the company’s chief legal officer, are slated to appear before the City Council next week. Former CFO Mircheva was never expected to be part of that hearing, the company said Thursday.

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