Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
The ‘cannibalization question’: Can NYC handle 3 new casinos?
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Dec 3, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Bally's Corporation
By
Arun Venugopal
Published Dec 3, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The state’s Gaming Facility Location Board is placing an expensive bet that New York City can support three full-fledged casino gambling operations just miles apart, with one in the Bronx and two in Queens.
“We asked our consultants to be very, very conservative,” said Vicki Been, the Location Board’s chair, which unveiled its long-awaited recommendation on Monday. “Even with that very, very conservative look they believed that the New York market is plenty strong to give the three casino licenses.”
But not everyone shares the board’s conviction that the region can sustain three new gambling hubs, with billions of dollars in revenue and investment on the line.
“We've now created the Van Wyck Expressway Casino Belt, with casinos running from the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge to Kennedy Airport,” said Bennett Liebman, the Government Lawyer in Residence at Albany Law School and a former member of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
He said the process was ill-considered, having resulted in a short list of projects far removed from the city’s central commercial districts.
“If you’re looking for economic development and tax revenue, you’d certainly want something much closer to Manhattan,” Liebman said.
Monday’s announcement by the five-member panel was the next-to-last step in a process that has unwound for years and will likely conclude in the coming weeks, when the New York State Gaming Commission makes its final decision, awarding up to three licenses.
An artist rendering of the proposed Metropolitan Park in Queens.
SHoP Architects, Field Operations
The finalists are Bally’s Bronx at Ferry Point, Hard Rock Metropolitan Park near Citi Field and Resorts World New York City, an expanded facility where the Aqueduct Racetrack is situated. Proponents of the projects said they would create thousands of new jobs — both construction jobs and permanent ones — and revive local communities.
Although the location board’s announcement prompted considerable praise from a number of pro-gaming stakeholders, some gaming experts were less than enthusiastic about the potential for a profusion of new gaming facilities.
Been said the board members had carefully considered “the cannibalization question” – whether three casinos just miles from one another would inevitably eat into each other’s profits.
Ultimately, she said, the board determined that each of the projects was distinct enough from the other that it would generate a unique customer base: Bally’s Bronx, for instance, is the only project with a golf course, while the proposed Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, next to Citi Field, the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, and a planned soccer stadium, would help anchor “a strong entertainment district,” as the board’s evaluation stated.
Rendering of the expanded Resorts World New York City casino gambling development, next to Aqueduct Racetrack, Queens.
Resorts World New York City
The evaluation also stated that with roughly 20 million people living in the New York City metro area and domestic and international tourists, the total downstate casino market “could reach approximately $5.5 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2033,” more than enough to sustain a robust downstate gaming industry.
Within the first 10 years of operation, the board predicted that the three facilities would collectively generate nearly $13 billion in taxes, including $7 billion in gaming taxes and $5.9 billion in hotel, sales and property taxes.
“The downstate gaming market is among the nation’s strongest,” the evaluation stated, “given the area’s dense population, high income levels, and tourism volume.”
Anthony Lucas, a professor of casino management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, broadly agreed. He said other cities in the United States had managed to support more than three casinos.
“I think New York City is a large enough market to support the three new venues,” Lucas said. “These companies are well aware of the necessary due diligence required to estimate demand and they are quite familiar with the tools to do so.”
Not everyone will benefit. Lucas said that existing casinos in the region would likely be hurt by the introduction of new casinos in the five boroughs, especially those “that rely on the New York City feeder market.”
Following the Location Board’s announcement on Monday, a number of elected officials, union leaders and business groups released statements of praise.
“Queens is on the move,” said Tom Grechthe, the president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“The three projects approved today promise to unlock billions in funding for the MTA and create tens of thousands of jobs,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Opponents of the Hard Rock Metropolitan Park said they would continue to oppose the sprawling project.
Flushing Workers Center, a Queens-based group that represents workers across trades, released a statement saying the casino would hurt families, spur gambling addictions and increase crime and displacement: “The tax revenue collected will come at the cost of the most vulnerable people in our community.”
The group pointed to an analysis earlier this year by Vivian Lu, a researcher at the Urban Institute, that the casino “could displace almost 16,000 renters who spend more than half of their income on housing in Corona and Flushing.”
Sarah Ahn, a Queens resident and member of the Flushing Workers Center, said the casino would simply compound an ongoing problem of displacement in the fast-growing corner of her borough.
“This casino is just piece and parcel of that,” Ahn said. “It’s going to cause a skyrocketing of our rents, of property taxes. It’s really a hit to our small businesses as well.”
Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, said in a statement that the project had been approved by six community boards as well as other local and state legislative bodies.
“The Gaming Facility Location Board has validated the positive economic impact this project will have with billions of dollars in tax revenue, 23,000 union jobs, and over $1 billion in community benefits,” Rickett said. “We look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review.”
Tagged
Politics
Race And Justice Unit
bronx
economy
gambling
queens
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.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .