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High stakes: NYC casino race heats up as projects vie for approval in 2025
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jun 5, 2024
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Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Jun 5, 2024
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State Sen. Jessica Ramos announced last week she would block a Queens casino project near Citi Field, but her move hardly marks the end of the story.
All told, 11 casino projects are vying for approval in New York, including nine in the five boroughs and two in the nearby suburbs, under a complicated plan set in motion by state legislators 12 years ago.
The pace of reviewing projects will speed up in the coming months. The state Gaming Commission announced in March that licenses for three downstate projects would be issued in late 2025.
At stake is a gambling market representing the country's largest metropolitan area, with a population of 23.5 million and another 62 million in annual tourists. That’s a lot of chips, but also loads of potential revenues for the state — an estimated $231 million to $413 million annually, according to last year’s state budget.
Here’s what to know about the casino approval process, the project bets on the table and what’s coming up.
Why is this happening now?
Because it’s New York City’s turn.
In 2013, state voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing for the creation of as many as seven new casinos statewide, for purposes of job growth, funding for public schools and property tax relief.
But the plan was split into two phases. The first phase involved the development of four casinos upstate, from the Finger Lakes to the Capital Region and down to the Southern Tier and the Catskills. These establishments have already been built, giving them a head start of several years before three additional casinos could be built in the New York City metropolitan area. The second phase, which spotlights the downstate proposals, is now under way.
The expansion of New York’s gaming landscape comes after a decadeslong period during which gambling was limited to lotteries, horse racing and casinos operated solely on Native American tribal lands.
Who’s in the running?
The 11 competitors currently in the running include bids in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. There’s also one bid in Westchester and another in Nassau County.
Manhattan
- On the far West Side, developer Larry Silverstein has proposed to build the Avenir, a complex at 41st Street and 11th Avenue comprising two 46-story towers, including 1,000 hotel rooms and 600,000 square feet of gaming, entertainment and restaurants, according to Silverstein Properties
- Casino company Wynn and the Related Companies are proposing to develop the western half of Hudson Yards. Their project, Wynn New York City, would include a resort and casino, 5.6 acres of open space and a 750-seat public school, according to company officials.
- In Times Square, Caesars Entertainment and SL Green Realty, the city’s biggest office landlord, have teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation to propose a project at 1515 Broadway, Caesars Palace Times Square, according to its backers, Coalition for a Better Times Square.
- One of the more out-of-the-box bids, by Hudson’s Bay Company, would convert the top few floors of Saks Fifth Avenue into a casino, according to Gothamist.
- The Soloviev Group hopes to build a casino and 1,325 units of housing on an empty plot of land across from the United Nations, according to the New York Times. Affordable housing would constitute 40% of the units.
Queens
- Mets owner Steve Cohen is forging ahead with plans to develop Metropolitan Park near Citi Field despite Ramos' opposition, a spokesperson told Gothamist. The project would include 20 acres of public parks, a Food Hall hosting restaurants from Queens, a Hard Rock hotel and a gaming and entertainment complex.
- Resorts World New York City, an existing casino complex at Aqueduct Race Track in South Ozone Park, would expand under a proposal announced in February by Resorts World. The bid includes 1,600 new hotel rooms, a 7,000 seat entertainment venue, and what the company claims would be one of the world’s largest casino floors.
Bronx
- A project backed by the Bally’s Corporation would transform the site previously known as Trump Links, creating a 3.1 million square foot complex with a gaming hall, spa, hotel and 2,000 seat arena, according to news outlet The City.
Brooklyn
- Thor Equities and the Chickasaw Nation have proposed “The Coney,” a casino and hotel complex on the Coney Island boardwalk, according to Thor Equities’ website.
The suburbs
- Casino company Las Vegas Sands aims to turn the former Nassau County home of the New York Islanders into a casino. The project, Sands New York, would also include a luxury spa.
- Gaming giant MGM is proposing to redevelop the existing MGM Empire in Yonkers, by adding a 5,000 seat concert space, a casino for “the most discerning” guests. Currently the facility operates a video lottery terminal “racino” and horse races.
Is there a front-runner?
Industry experts have widely touted Empire City in Yonkers and Resorts World in Queens as front-runners because they're already long-established gaming sites. Empire City has a history of horse racing — specifically harness racing — dating back to the late 1800s.
Who is picking the casinos?
Each bid has to get past a committee made of local and state representatives, known as the Community Advisory Committee. After that, the final decision will be made by a Gaming Facility Location Board, consisting of five members appointed by the governor:
- Quenia Abreu, president of the New York Women's Chamber of Commerce.
- Vicki Been, a law professor at NYU and former New York City deputy mayor for housing and economic development.
- Carlos Naudon, the president and CEO of Ponce Bank.
- Stuart Rabinowitz, the former president of Hofstra University.
- A fifth member remains unnamed.
The board members are not compensated for their work, are required to have no conflicts of interest and cannot be lobbied.
What constitutes a successful casino bid?
Backers of a successful bid need to have deep pockets: the minimum investment required is $500 million, according to state gaming officials. Beyond that, Vicki Been, a member of the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board, said during a webinar presentation in February that officials will be looking for projects that promise revenues for the state and localities, as well as plenty of jobs, with extra points awarded for diversity in ownership as well as people securing jobs. They also want projects that can “recapture” spending by New Yorkers who have been traveling to casinos located out of state.
What does New York state do with the revenue it earns from gambling?
Most of it has traditionally gone to public education. In fiscal year 2022-23, the state collected over $4.8 billion in gaming revenues, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, of which 95% went to education. For any new casinos built in New York City, all $1.5 billion in licensing fees will go to the MTA while gaming taxes will be evenly split between the MTA and a state gaming fund for education and property tax relief.
Are the state’s existing casinos delivering on their economic promise?
Not quite. Three out of four of the casinos built upstate reached just 50% to 60% of their initial projections, according to a 2023 report by the state comptroller. “Even so, revenues represented a significant portion of the smaller towns’ budgets,” said the comptroller’s report, adding that gaming taxes “had a particularly large effect on the finances of the three smaller host towns, which were able to reduce real property taxes significantly.”
Lucy Dadayan, a principal research associate at the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Policy Center, said during a virtual town hall in February organized by state Sen. Liz Krueger that 27 states now earn revenue from gaming, but that “the revenue growth has been very minimal.”
What's next?
Applicants will spend the rest of this year completing environmental reviews, said Robert Williams, the executive director of the state Gaming Commission, in a March note. Four candidates would require “reasonable time” to get through the city’s land use review process, Williams said. Following those steps, he said each viable project would get its own Community Advisory Committee, a step he envisions by mid-2025.
For New York City projects, each committee will be made of six appointees representing the governor, the mayor, a state senator and state assemblymember, the borough president and the local councilmember. A project can only go to the final round with the approval of two-thirds of the members. That’s the review by the Gaming Facility Location Board, which is expected to make its final decisions by the end of 2025.
Tagged
gambling
new york
Race And Justice Unit
economy
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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