(Dec 1): New York Mets owner Steve Cohen won approval to operate a casino next to Citi Field in Queens, one of three projects the state gaming commission’s facility location board selected for gambling licences in New York City.
Cohen, the hedge fund mogul who submitted an US$8 billion ($10.37 billion) casino proposal with partner Hard Rock International, was picked alongside Genting Group’s Resorts World and Bally’s Corp. Genting proposes to expand a casino next to the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, while Bally’s plans to operate a gaming facility at the site of a Bronx golf course previously developed by US President Donald Trump. Bally’s shares jumped as much as 11.5% before paring gains to about 1%.
“The sizable population within a two-hour drive will support sustained visitation supplemented by domestic and international travellers,” board member Greg Reimers said Monday. “Each proposal presents a strong competitive positioning based on brand strength, amenities and facility design.”
The decisions Monday by the board brings the state near the end of a decade-long process to award as many as three casino licences in New York’s densely populated downstate region, where the number of potential gamblers offers the prospect of large profits for gaming operators and a robust source of tax revenue for New York.
Reimers said that the board’s consultants project gaming tax revenue of US$7 billion between 2027 and 2036, plus US$1.5 billion in licensing fees and another US$5.9 billion from other taxes derived from the projects.
“No alternative scenarios produce comparable revenue or fiscal benefits,” he said.
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The decisions were met by an outburst by a few protesters, who shouted “shame on you” to the board members.
The gaming commission will now review the applications to ensure they meet licensure criteria and environmental requirements, and is expected to award the licenses by year-end.
The winning bids also stand to transform parts of the boroughs outside of Manhattan with the promise of thousands of permanent new jobs, entertainment and nightlife.
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Cohen, who purchased the Mets in 2020, plans to build his Metropolitan Park complex on what’s currently a parking lot next to the team’s baseball stadium in Flushing, Queens. In addition to a gaming facility, the complex will include a live entertainment venue, multiple restaurants, shops, a hotel and convention centre, allowing Cohen to make money from the space year-round.
The project, slated to be completed in 2030, is expected to create 17,000 construction jobs and 6,000 permanent jobs. By its third year in operation, the complex is expected to make US$3.9 billion in revenue, generating more than than $850 million in taxes, according to an application document. Cohen offered to pay a tax rate of 25% on revenue from slot machines and 10% for table games.
“After years of community engagement and support, Metropolitan Park is one step closer to becoming a reality,” Karl Rickett, a spokesman for Metropolitan Park, said in a statement. “We look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review.”
Cohen, who runs the US$41.5 billion hedge fund firm Point72 Asset Management, has a net worth of US$17.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The process drew widespread interest from real estate owners and developers, many of whom jumped at the chance to wring cash from undeveloped parcels. Eight developers submitted bids, three of which were for sites in Manhattan.
Billionaire Stefan Soloviev proposed developing the site of a decommissioned power plant on Manhattan’s East Side, while SL Green Realty Corp and Caesars Entertainment Inc pitched bringing a casino to Times Square. Thor Equities vied for a casino in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, and Silverstein Properties pushed to turn an empty lot near the Jacob K Javits Convention Center into a 1.8 million-square-foot tower with a hotel, restaurant and gaming facilities.
Ultimately, just four proposals were approved by community advisory committees, with all three Manhattan bids failing despite the potential for billions of dollars in revenue. Promises that included generating thousands of union jobs and building affordable housing couldn’t overcome community opposition that dogged proposals for a Manhattan gaming site.
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The process drew consternation from City Hall, which slammed the community board decisions as rushed and depriving “New Yorkers living and working in Manhattan of the opportunity for US$23.9 billion in economic impact and more than 31,000 jobs.”
MGM Resorts International, which won approval from the community board for its plan to expand its existing Empire City casino at Yonkers Raceway, dropped out of the competition in October.
Resorts World proposed investing US$7.5 billion to build a resort on the site that would include 2,000 hotel rooms, an arena, and more than 30 restaurants and bars. The company, part of Malaysia’s Genting Group, proposed the highest tax at 56% on slot machines for the project.
State regulators will set the final tax rates, with the possibility that different operators pay different rates.
After final approval, Genting says it plans to have hundreds of table games available by the end of March.
Bally’s, which is proposing a US$4 billion resort with a hotel and event centre at a company-owned golf course in the Bronx, is projecting US$1 billion a year in gambling revenue when it opens. It will create 15,000 union jobs during construction and employ almost 4,000 people once operational, according to application documents. The property would generate US$200 million annually in gaming-related taxes, Bally’s has said.
Trump Organization, the company managed by the president’s sons, has also emerged a winner in the process. The company stands to receive a US$115 million contingency payout from Bally’s as part of the gaming operators’ deal to take over the lease on the Bronx site, according to testimony made public in a civil trial involving the president.
“The three projects approved today promise to unlock billions in funding for the MTA and create tens of thousands of jobs,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “It is critical that they keep those promises.”
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