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This image rendering provided by Hard Rock International, shows the Hard Rock\u2019s casino proposal in the Queens borough of New York, adjacent to Citified. (Hard Rock International via AP)<\/p>\n
This image rendering provided by Hard Rock International, shows the Hard Rock\u2019s casino proposal in the Queens borough of New York, adjacent to Citified. (Hard Rock International via AP)<\/p>\n
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Eight projects are bidding for up to three state licenses to operate a casino in the lucrative New York City market, each dangling the prospect of generational investment in America\u2019s largest metropolitan region.<\/p>\n
But one \u2014 a Bally\u2019s casino proposed on a Bronx golf course once run by President Donald Trump\u2019s company<\/a> \u2014 may have already run out of luck, after city lawmakers denied it a key approval this week. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This rendering image by HKS + Gensler shows the Bally\u2019s casino proposed on a city-owned golf course, in The Bronx borough of New York. (HKS + Gensler via AP)<\/p>\n This rendering image by HKS + Gensler shows the Bally\u2019s casino proposed on a city-owned golf course, in The Bronx borough of New York. (HKS + Gensler via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n All of the proposed casinos, in application materials<\/a> submitted in recent days, promise to create thousands of new jobs, flashy new community amenities in the form of hotels, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues and billions of dollars a year in taxable gambling revenues for the state\u2019s coffers.<\/p>\n How realistic those promises are, though, is an open question, given the proliferation of casinos in the northeast<\/a> and the explosion of online gambling in recent years, casino experts say. <\/p>\n \u201cThe question isn\u2019t whether New York City can support casinos, but whether three full-scale properties can achieve their ambitious revenue projections without cannibalizing each other,\u201d said Sam Chandan, a professor at New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business.<\/p>\n Gambling industry spending big, but some locals aren\u2019t sold <\/p>\n The arrival of full-fledged casino resorts in New York City has been years in the making. <\/p>\n The gambling industry spent mightily to secure approval from New York voters in a referendum authorizing the licensing of up to seven full casinos with live table games back in 2013. But the state initially allowed upstate venues a head start.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s Gaming Commission says it hopes to finally award up to three downstate licenses in December. But before then, community advisory committees appointed by lawmakers and local officials will weigh community opinions of each plan. <\/p>\n Nearly all the casino proposals face some degree of local push back.<\/p>\n On Monday, the New York City Council denied Bally\u2019s a needed rezoning change following local resident concerns about the environmental impact of its $4 billion proposal, which also calls for a 500-room hotel and a 2,000-seat event center.<\/p>\n Bally\u2019s, which bought the former Trump Links course in 2023, had promised<\/a> to pay Trump another $115 million if it were to secure a casino license, though that was not among the objections voiced by the Democratic majority on the council nor the Republican lawmaker representing the Bronx district. Spokespersons for Bally\u2019s declined to comment on the future of the project this week.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, the debate over the proposed Times Square casino has taken center stage, with supporters and opponents recently holding dueling rallies in the Crossroads of the World. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This image rendering from by Binyan Studios shows the proposed Caesar\u2019s casino plan for New York\u2019s Times Square that includes renovating a skyscraper that currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, home of \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d (Binyan Studios via AP)<\/p>\n This image rendering from by Binyan Studios shows the proposed Caesar\u2019s casino plan for New York\u2019s Times Square that includes renovating a skyscraper that currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, home of \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d (Binyan Studios via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Among the prominent groups opposed to the $5.4 billion plan is the Broadway League, a trade group representing America\u2019s performing arts theaters. It says a casino would draw patrons away from neighborhood businesses and threaten a theater industry still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n The project\u2019s backers have countered that the plan, which calls for renovating a skyscraper that currently houses the Minskoff Theatre, home of long-running \u201cThe Lion King\u201d musical, will actually boost demand for Broadway tickets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FILE \u2014 People walk in front of the Minskoff Theatre where \u201cThe Lion King\u201d plays on Broadway in New York, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Ted Shaffrey, File)<\/p>\n FILE \u2014 People walk in front of the Minskoff Theatre where \u201cThe Lion King\u201d plays on Broadway in New York, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Ted Shaffrey, File)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The developers, which have also enlisted Jay-Z\u2019s Roc Nation to curate their entertainment offerings, promise $250 million in community projects, including a public safety plan designed by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and a multimillion-dollar civil rights museum that helped earn an endorsement from the Rev. Al Sharpton.<\/p>\n The two other casinos proposed in Manhattan \u2014 one for its West Side and another on its East Side \u2014 could face similar headwinds, given their proximity to residential neighborhoods, according to casino experts. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This rendering image provided by Silverstone Properties shows the proposed $7-billion Avenir casino for the West Side of Manhattan, near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Lincoln Tunnel that carries drivers under the Hudson River to New Jersey. (Silverstone Properties via AP)<\/p>\n This rendering image provided by Silverstone Properties shows the proposed $7-billion Avenir casino for the West Side of Manhattan, near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Lincoln Tunnel that carries drivers under the Hudson River to New Jersey. (Silverstone Properties via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n But the proposed West Side resort, near the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey, could reel in business travelers and convention attendees, if it can win over locals, said Soojin Ha, a lecturer at Cornell University\u2019s business school.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Brooklyn, organizers of the quirky Mermaid Parade<\/a> are among those leading the charge against a Coney Island casino, claiming the plan would remove some of the boardwalk\u2019s iconic amusement rides and block access to the public beach.<\/p>\n Developers of The Coney say the more than $3 billion project, which also calls for a hotel, a 2,400-seat arena and a convention center, will be built on privately owned land and not impact the adjacent public lands where the rides are located. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This image rendering from FX Collaborative and Neoscape, Inc. shows the proposed casino \u201cThe Coney\u201d, in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. (FX Collaborative and Neoscape Inc. via AP)<\/p>\n This image rendering from FX Collaborative and Neoscape, Inc. shows the proposed casino \u201cThe Coney\u201d, in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. (FX Collaborative and Neoscape Inc. via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n New York market could support 3 casinos, expert says<\/p>\n Since the 2013 referendum, four full casinos<\/a> have opened in New York, though all of them are located upstate, miles away from Manhattan. The state also has nine gambling halls<\/a> offering slot machines and other electronic gambling machines but no live table games.<\/p>\n Some three hours drive north of Manhattan are the Native American tribe-owned Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos in Connecticut. Two hours south are the New Jersey shore casinos of Atlantic City, and less than two hours due west in Pennsylvania is the tribe-owned Wind Creek Casino at the former site of Bethlehem Steel.<\/p>\n Despite the competition from seemingly all corners, New York City\u2019s dense market could sustain three gambling halls, depending on where they\u2019re located, said John Holden, a business professor at Indiana University who specializes in gambling law.<\/p>\n The state could also hedge its bets by awarding two of the three licenses to proven winners: the racinos — slot parlors built alongside horse racing tracks \u2014 that have been successfully operating for years in the New York City area, said Alan Woinski, a New Jersey-based gambling consultant.<\/p>\n MGM Resorts is proposing a $2.3 billion expansion of the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway. Resorts World, owned by Malaysian casino giant Genting, is proposing a $5.5 billion investment to its gaming facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n CORRECTS CAPTION CREDIT This image rendering, from MGM Resorts International, shows the MGM Resorts proposal of a $2.3-billion expansion of the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, in Yonkers, N.Y. (MGM Resorts International via AP)<\/p>\n CORRECTS CAPTION CREDIT This image rendering, from MGM Resorts International, shows the MGM Resorts proposal of a $2.3-billion expansion of the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, in Yonkers, N.Y. (MGM Resorts International via AP)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Those expansions, Woinski noted, could be rolled out in a matter of months, meaning the state wouldn\u2019t have to wait years for the construction of a wholly new site to start reaping the financial windfall.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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