The New York casino finalists got early Christmas presents from state regulators who approved the two in Queens and one in the Bronx.
After multiple years of lobbying, millions spent and countless twists and turns, the downstate New York casino race is now complete. The New York State Gaming Commission unanimously approved commercial licences for Bally’s Bronx, Resorts World NYC and Metropolitan Park Monday.
The $500 million licences came with a key condition: recipients must sign agreements with third parties to monitor and enforce the litany of community benefits that each pledged over the course of the process. These agreements must run for at least five years from the date of licensure and applicants must report progress quarterly.
Such a condition falls in line with the guidance offered by the Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB), which had recommended all three finalists on 1 December. Before that ruling, the applicants’ Community Advisory Committees had also stressed the need to formalise community agreements.
In the end, the three winners proved victorious in a field that was once as wide as 11 potential applicants. Four bidders voluntarily withdrew – Hudson’s Bay Co, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts – while the other four were eliminated in the community advisory stage.
“To all three who have been granted this conditional licence, congratulations on behalf of the state of New York,” said NYSGC Chairman Brian O’Dwyer. “We look forward to seeing the jobs, economic development, infrastructure and gaming revenue come to fruition.”
What do the New York casino winners have planned?
Bally’s plans to build a $4 billion integrated resort at a golf course it owns in the Bronx. In addition to the licensing and construction costs, the company also owes an additional $115 million to the Trump Organization, the course’s former owner, as part of the site’s purchase agreement.
Metropolitan Park is to be a sprawling $8 billion mixed-use complex adjacent to the New York Mets’ Citi Field stadium in Queens. It is a joint venture between Hard Rock International and Mets owner Steve Cohen. The project avoided political hiccups over rezoning as well as a last-minute legal challenge from the US Tennis Association.
Resorts World plans an expansive $5.5 billion renovation and expansion of its existing video lottery terminal facility, also in Queens. The facility was the most aggressive in its bidding, proposing tax rates of 56% and 30% for slots and table games, respectively.
Bally’s and Metropolitan Park are both slated to open in 2030 whereas Resorts World plans to open the first phase of its expanded casino in 2026. The operator originally projected a July launch but bumped that up to March, an ambitious schedule, as bidding intensified.
Competition became an increasingly worrisome factor as the process went on, given that two of the three projects are in Queens. All of the Manhattan bids were eliminated from contention and MGM pulled its Yonkers bid, leaving Queens and the Bronx as the remaining winners in the downstate race.
Resorts World fulfills its New York prophecy
The combination of the higher tax rates and fastest speed to market made Resorts World a frontrunner from the beginning. Its licensure was perhaps least surprising among the field.
“Resorts World New York City thanks the New York State Gaming Commission for today’s final approval,” Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said in a statement. “We look forward to opening within months as New York City’s first full commercial casino.”
The property will have a significant first-mover advantage. If its meets its announced casino launch date, it will be the only downstate licensee for at least three full years, and perhaps four.
But Resorts World’s parent company, Genting Bhd, has two loose ends to tend to in the meantime – the $561 million sale of its Resorts World Catskills property to Sullivan County in upstate New York, and its efforts to privatise its Genting Malaysia subsidiary. The Catskills sale has been delayed to 2026 as the latter process unfolds.
The biggest question related to Resorts World’s downstate bid had revolved around suitability. Resorts World Las Vegas, Genting’s Strip casino, was fined $10.5 million this year for substantial anti-money laundering violations.
Resorts World did not disclose to New York officials the details of that incident or other fines it had received, which worried the GFLB. But the NYSGC said Monday that nothing in Resorts World’s application or background check was prohibitive for licensure.
Bally’s comes out of nowhere to win one for the Bronx
While Resorts World was a leading favourite, Bally’s Bronx was the opposite, representing the biggest surprise of the three winners.
A successful New York bid adds to a growing list of significant projects the operator is involved in, with the others in Chicago, Las Vegas and internationally. Its $1.8 billion Chicago casino will open next year and its majority takeover of Australian operator Star Entertainment was just approved. A proposed Las Vegas Strip casino complex is still in preliminary stages.
Perhaps no one aided Bally’s New York casino fortunes more than outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Adams stepped in twice to aid the project’s rezoning efforts with the New York City Council, once by lowering a vote threshold and again by vetoing another vote altogether. He later withdrew from the city’s mayoral election in November.
The location in the Bronx is notable as Bally’s Bronx, if fully built, would represent the largest private investment in the borough’s history. The company’s extensive local and minority-led hiring and diversity commitments proved to be big factors in the state’s considerations.
Costs will be closely monitored – the highly leveraged company has taken on substantial debt. It has financed multiple transactions with the help of its biggest lending partner, Gaming and Leisure Properties. While the GFLB called Bally’s a “non-investment-grade entity”, that concern did not deter the commission’s support.
“Having grown up in the city, it’s an honor and privilege to be selected by the Gaming Commission to receive a licence,” Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said in a statement. “Our team has worked closely with community leaders, union partners and local stakeholders to build a project that delivers real jobs, lasting economic benefits and a world-class entertainment destination for the Bronx.”
Metropolitan Park calls its shot, hits a home run
Like Resorts World, Metropolitan Park had long been viewed as a leading candidate for a New York casino licence. Its ability to transform otherwise vacant parking lots into a year-round entertainment destination was a key point in its success.
The backing from Mets owner Steve Cohen, one of the richest men in the world, also made it arguably the most secure project cost-wise. Cohen is a significant donor to the state’s Democratic Party and has long been connected to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Yet, local politics almost derailed the $8 billion dream. State Senator Jessica Ramos, whose district includes much of the site, refused to sponsor rezoning legislation. Cohen and company eventually skirted this roadblock by enlisting Senator John Liu to carry the legislation instead. Liu and Ramos’ public disagreement over the maneuver was one of the political lowlights of the licensing process.
The US Tennis Association also created intrigue by filing a last-minute lawsuit over lease obligations tied to the land. This was averted through a new agreement with the city, stakeholders said.
“Since the day I bought the team, the community and Mets fans have made it clear to me that we can and should do better with the area around the ballpark,” Cohen said in a statement. “Now, we are going to be able to deliver the sports and entertainment district that our fans have been asking for.”
Cohen’s casino partner, Seminole-owned Hard Rock International, enjoys a monopoly on casinos and online sports betting in Florida and is constructing a Las Vegas Strip resort on the site of the former Mirage with an opening pegged for 2027.
Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen said in a statement his company is “excited to build on our long record of delivering world-class entertainment experiences here in Queens”.
Jess has covered the global gaming industry since 2022. A native of Reno, Nevada, he’d like to note that it’s Ne-va-da, not Ne-VAH-da.