![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1742320376-ballys-corporation-render-casino-bronx-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn a unanimous vote on Monday, New York\u2019s Gaming Facility Location Board approved all three remaining bids for downstate casino licences at a public meeting held at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. The board gave its backing to Bally\u2019s Corporation for a new resort in the Bronx, to Genting Group\u2019s Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct, and to the Metropolitan Park scheme near Citi Field led by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen in partnership with Hard Rock. The recommendations will now be sent to the New York State Gaming Commission, which is expected to give final sign-off on 31 December.<\/p>\n
The decision closes a lengthy competitive process that began after state lawmakers authorised three full casino licences for the New York City area in the 2022 budget. With Monday\u2019s vote, the downstate race is effectively over: a single project in the Bronx and two in Queens, promoted by Bally\u2019s, Genting and Steve Cohen\u2019s Metropolitan Park venture, have been selected ahead of rival bids in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Yonkers. According to state and local officials, the three developments are expected to generate billions of dollars in investment, tens of thousands of jobs and long-term funding streams for public transport and education.<\/p>\n
Governor Kathy Hochul welcomed the outcome, stressing that each project had to demonstrate clear and durable benefits for its host community as well as the wider state.\u00a0The board\u2019s chair, Vicki Been, said the panel concluded that advancing all three finalists best matched New York\u2019s economic and social objectives, following site visits, community hearings and extensive financial reviews.<\/p>\n
Under the framework agreed with lawmakers, each winning bidder will pay a substantial up-front licensing fee \u2013 reported in local media as 500 million dollars per project, or 1.5 billion dollars in total \u2013 alongside ongoing tax payments tied to gaming revenue. A significant share of those funds is earmarked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with additional contributions expected to support schools and other public services.<\/p>\n
Bronx Power Play: Bally\u2019s at Ferry Point<\/p>\n
One of the most closely watched approvals involves Bally\u2019s plan to build a full casino resort at the city-owned golf course at Ferry Point, overlooking the East River and the Whitestone Bridge.\u00a0The scheme would convert part of the former Trump-branded course into an integrated destination combining gaming, hotel accommodation, restaurants, entertainment space and landscaped public areas. As part of the deal, Bally\u2019s Corporation, based in Rhode Island, would expand its growing US footprint with its first full-scale casino in New York City.<\/p>\n
A crucial element behind the project is the unwinding of earlier arrangements linked to the Trump Organization. Documents cited by New York outlets indicate that Bally\u2019s has agreed to pay a substantial additional amount \u2013 up to 115 million dollars \u2013 in connection with the transfer of contractual rights at the site, contingent on the casino licence advancing. That payment, on top of several billion dollars in projected capital spending, underlines the company\u2019s long-term bet on the Bronx as a gaming and entertainment hub.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the Ferry Point development argue that it will anchor a major jobs and infrastructure programme in one of the city\u2019s least prosperous boroughs, with thousands of union positions expected during construction and operations. Critics, including some local campaigners, have raised concerns about traffic, environmental impact and the broader social effects of placing a large casino complex on waterfront land. Those debates are likely to continue as the project moves into detailed city-level land-use, zoning and permitting reviews.<\/p>\n
Queens Mainstay: Resorts World\u2019s Full-Casino Upgrade![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1753192408-resorts-world-new-york-city-renders-expansion-01.jpg\")
The second licence recommendation supports the transformation of Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens from a video lottery terminal \u201cracino\u201d into a full Class III casino. The operator, part of Malaysia-based Genting Group, has already run the site for more than a decade and has argued that it can convert and expand rapidly once a full licence is in place.<\/p>\n
In statements following Monday\u2019s decision, company executives described the board\u2019s vote as the culmination of more than fifteen years of work to build jobs and tax revenue in south Queens. Resorts World\u2019s latest proposal envisages multi-billion-dollar investment in live table games, hotel expansion, upgraded entertainment space and additional food-and-beverage options, while maintaining the existing racing operations at Aqueduct. The operator has previously indicated that it could launch key elements of the enhanced casino within months of final approval, significantly increasing contributions to the MTA and public education funds in the short term.<\/p>\n
Because the resort is already open and employs a large local workforce, proponents argue that its upgrade offers a relatively quick route to higher tax receipts and expanded employment, compared with building a new property from scratch. The project has generally drawn more support than opposition in earlier advisory stages, although local officials have stressed the need for continued focus on responsible gambling and traffic management as the property grows.<\/p>\n
Citi Field Vision: Metropolitan Park in Queens![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1760617645-hard-rock-casino-project-render-2025.jpg\")
The third winning bid is the Metropolitan Park project, a large mixed-use casino and entertainment scheme planned for parking areas near Citi Field in Queens. Fronted by Mets owner and hedge fund investor Steve Cohen, in partnership with Hard Rock, the proposal would redevelop a substantial stretch of currently underused land around Flushing Bay into a destination resort featuring a casino, hotel, live-performance venue, new open spaces and a range of dining and retail options. The venture, with an estimated price tag in the high single-digit billions of dollars, would give Cohen and Hard Rock one of the three coveted downstate licences alongside Bally\u2019s and Genting.<\/p>\n
Backers of Metropolitan Park have framed it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the waterfront, improve access and create year-round economic activity beyond baseball season. The bid\u2019s community-benefit package includes commitments on union jobs, local hiring, environmental improvements and over one billion dollars in pledged community investments, according to figures highlighted by project representatives after the vote. Supporters in Queens government describe the scheme as central to the borough\u2019s broader evolution into a major entertainment and tourism hub.<\/p>\n
At the same time, several residents\u2019 groups and activists remain sceptical, worrying about congestion, gambling-related harm and the long-term balance between privately driven development and public space. Those concerns surfaced throughout the advisory-committee phase and are expected to be revisited as the project faces city council scrutiny and state environmental review.<\/p>\n
New Competitive Map for the Northeast<\/p>\n
Taken together, the three approvals represent a structural shift in the competitive map for casinos in the north-eastern United States. Until now, New York City has relied on limited electronic gaming at racinos and on tribal and commercial casinos located hours away from Manhattan, leaving Atlantic City and properties in Connecticut and Pennsylvania as dominant regional draws. Once Resorts World\u2019s full upgrade is completed and the new Bronx and Citi Field resorts open, New York will field a trio of comprehensive casino destinations in its own metropolitan area, led respectively by Bally\u2019s, Genting and Steve Cohen\u2019s Metropolitan Park partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a unanimous vote on Monday, New York\u2019s Gaming Facility Location Board approved all three remaining bids for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-58272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}