Bally’s Corporation has appointed President George Papanier as Interim Chief Financial Officer following Mira Mircheva’s resignation from the role for personal reasons.
Mircheva’s resignation as Executive Vice President and CFO was effective on Friday. She will remain with the company through 30 September to support the leadership transition.
Bally’s board has appointed George Papanier as Interim CFO, also effective as of Friday. He will retain his roles as president of Bally’s and a member of the board.
The board has also begun a search for a permanent CFO.
Papanier has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry and is a certified public accountant. He has served as President of Bally’s land-based casino operations since October 2021.
He previously served as Bally’s President and CEO from February 2011 to October 2021, after joining the company as Chief Operating Officer in 2004. He also served as Interim CFO in 2023.
Bally’s CEO Robeson Reeves thanked Mircheva for her contributions and said Papanier’s experience would support continuity across the company’s financial operations during the transition.
“Having spent more than two decades in key operating and financial leadership roles at Bally’s, George has been instrumental in developing our business model, asset portfolio, and growth strategy,” he said. “He steps into the interim role supported by an experienced finance organization, and I am confident that our reporting, controls, and capital markets work will continue without disruption.”
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. Mircheva served as CFO at Queen Casino from 2023 to 2025.
Mircheva’s resignation comes as the company navigates liquidity issues. On August 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.
The company is also embroiled in a battle with the city of Chicago 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, citing City Council’s approval of VGTs as a violation of its host agreement.