PBN Leaders & Achievers 2024 Awards
Craig Eaton | Bally’s Corp. | Rhode Island operations president
AN ATTORNEY BY TRADE, Craig Eaton is proud of his ability to build consensus among diverse stakeholders. It’s a trait that has served him well at Bally’s Corp., where he began as general counsel in 2006 and now serves as the president of Rhode Island operations.
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Eaton built his business acumen in part from his athletic background, he says, playing basketball, baseball and football earlier in his life.
“I use that experience with teamwork, determination, perseverance and understanding how to lose, take losses and learn from them to help a team stay motivated working together to accomplish goals,” Eaton said.
As a young attorney at Narragansett Electric Co., he was involved in making Rhode Island the first state in the country to deregulate the purchase of power supply. Later at Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC, Eaton started and grew the regulatory practice, which still thrives today.
When he arrived at Bally’s, the company was a small casino property in Lincoln with a few dog and horse tracks in Colorado. With his help, the company has grown to include 15 casinos in 10 states – including the two casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton – with a large and growing international division.
In Rhode Island, Eaton has worked to bring table games to the state, introduced iGaming, making Rhode Island only the eighth state in the nation to offer it and gained approval via referendum to build Bally’s Tiverton, which opened in 2018.
“I want to see Bally’s continue to grow and be successful, and I’m looking forward to [that] now that I’m mostly on the legal side to continue to focus on the business side and see it thrive,” Eaton said.
Eaton continues to focus on athletics, founding and now serving on the board of Shoreline Surfers, a multi-sport youth organization in southern Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut. He also serves with the Ocean Community YMCA and Westerly Little League boards, as well as frequently volunteers at various local and state philanthropic efforts.
Additionally, Eaton helps Bally’s with its charitable efforts, including scholarships for local students, environmental cleanup campaigns and an annual holiday blackjack tournament that raises funds for nonprofit organizations throughout the state.
