The New York Gaming Facility Location Board approved three resort casino projects, all vying for the coveted downstate casino licenses, on Monday. The next step will be seeking operating licenses from the New York Gaming Commission (NYGC), which is expected to ratify the recommendations by the end of December.
And the Winners Are…
It has been a long, arduous process for the developers of the three downstate resort casino projects that were selected on Monday. In January 2023, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board released the Request for Applications, and in the beginning, there was no shortage of bidders.
In fact, a dozen projects were vying for the four casino licenses, but a bevy of approvals from community groups to zoning boards to EPA authorities were hurdles too tall to climb for many of them.
In the end, four groups remained, but on October 14th, MGM Resorts took many by surprise when the company withdrew its Empire City bid.
In the end, three projects were awarded approval from the NYGFLB, and they were:
- Hard Rock Metropolitan Park
- Bally’s Bronx
- Resorts World New York
The latter will be the first to hit the ground running, as Resorts World New York already operates slot machines and electronic table games at its Times Square Casino and Fifth Avenue Casino, located under one roof at its Rockaway Boulevard location in Jamaica, New York.
Big Projects Equal Big Bucks
Resorts World New York is expected to be open for full casino gaming, including live table games, which it is currently without, by March 2026.
However, the price tag is expected to be $7.5 billion for renovations and additions, including a 50,000-square-foot gaming floor, 2,000 hotel rooms, and a 7,000-seat entertainment venue, as well as 7,000 parking spots and 12 acres of green space.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, in partnership with Hard Rock, is an $8 billion project that will be located on a 50-acre site in Queens, next to the Mets stadium, aka Citi Field.
Meanwhile, Bally’s Bronx project is expected to cost about $4 billion and will be located on the site of a golf course previously owned by Donald Trump’s organization at Ferry Point Park. Bally’s project will reportedly include 500 hotel rooms and a 500,000-square-foot gaming facility.
An estimated $7 billion in gaming tax revenue will be collected over the next 10 years, with another 1.5 billion in licensing fees, plus state and local taxes, property, and sales, which should deliver another $5.9 billion.
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