Queens’ two casino plans clear penultimate hurdle

The State Gaming Facility Location Board approved three casino bids for Queens and the Bronx on Monday, handing the three applications off for the final approval. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Two developers proposing to build casinos in Queens cleared the penultimate hurdle on Monday, getting approval from a board tasked with evaluating their bids.

The largely expected ruling from the State Gaming Facility Location Board means Queens is one step closer to having two casinos within its borders and a third on its doorstep, creating potentially far-reaching implications for the borough.

Monday’s green light moves applications for Steve Cohen’s $8 billion Metropolitan Park and Resorts World’s $5.5 billion expansion on to the final level of approval. The board also recommended approving an application from Bally’s to put a casino in the Bronx right across from the foot of the Whitestone Bridge.

The five-person board unanimously ruled in favor of the casino plans, handing the final approvals off to the state’s Gaming Commission, which is expected to grant its three available licenses to the three remaining bidders before year’s end.

Board members on Monday said that approving all three would be generally beneficial for New York State.

“The board determined that awarding all three licenses best advances the state's long-term economic, fiscal and community objectives,” said Vicki Been, the chair of the board.

Been and other members of the board said that benefits from the projects, mainly through tax revenues and workforce development, will be a positive for the communities around them, most of which are in Queens.

The approval from the location board, which oversaw the evaluation of all three projects on the merits of their applications, is not a “rubber stamp,” but is a major win for the three casino bidders.

But casino bidders on Monday took the approvals as an overwhelmingly positive sign that their respective proposals will get the final thumbs up when the time arrives.

Still, the board expressed some concerns about the projects, including some discrepancies between the applicants’ rosy outlook on revenues and analysis done by their own consultants.

“They disagreed with some estimates by the applicants and thought that they were quite high,” said Been.

In a document outlining much of their thinking, the board did not list those financial differences, but expressed other concerns about Queens’ two applications.

For Metropolitan Park, the board listed some worries about traffic and parking in the area, which also includes Citi Field, the Billie Jean King Tennis Center and the yet-to-be-built Etihad Park soccer stadium and new neighborhood in Willets Point.

The board recommended “continued monitoring and adjustment of traffic plans during construction and facility operation” for Metropolitan Park.

The report also said that while Metropolitan Park will “generate substantial, robust annual gaming revenue,” their own consultants believe that the income will be less than Metropolitan Park projects them to be.

The board also expressed concerns regarding Resorts World’s financing plan, which is entirely contingent on the casino meeting the financial goals it set forth in its application.

“If financial performance underperforms projections or if additional debt cannot be secured, the project could face funding shortfalls, potentially requiring further capital support to complete the project,” the board’s report said.

A spokesperson for Resorts World declined to comment on the board’s more specific findings while a spokesperson for Metropolitan Park did not respond to a request for comment.

Resorts World hinged its bid on the fact that it will be able open and bring in revenue earlier than any other applicants, but the board worried this could be a double-edged sword, since ongoing construction of other aspects of the plan could “compromise the quality of the experience for visitors” in the meantime.

In the case of both projects, the board stressed further oversight from the community and elected officials to keep Resorts World and Metropolitan Park to promises of housing development and other amenities that were not directly included in their casino bids.

The board cited Metropolitan Park’s Taste of Queens food hall, as well as both developers’ plans to construct affordable housing as commitments that need to be kept and monitored by locals.

While maintaining their concerns, the board also shot down worries regarding problem gambling, negative community impact and the concerns that three casinos in close proximity would lead to a cannibalized market.

The three projects would be within 20 miles of each other, and a person could feasibly travel from Resorts World to Bally’s in about 45 minutes by car, hitting Metropolitan Park along the way.

“We ask our consultants to be very, very conservative,” Been said. “Even with that very, very conservative look, they believe that the New York market is strong enough, plenty strong, to give the three casino licenses.”

In general, the board spoke highly of all three applications, and the groups behind them.

“After years of community engagement and support, Metropolitan Park is one step closer to becoming a reality,” said Karl Rickett, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Park. “Following a fair, transparent and rigorous process, 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. We look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review.”

Robert DeSalvio, the president of Genting Americas East, which owns Resorts World, also celebrated the approval.

“Resorts World New York City’s journey to this historic moment represents more than 15 years of work to generate jobs, revenue, and opportunities for our neighbors,” said DeSalvio. “Resorts World New York City’s $7.5 billion proposal is the only bid that can expand operations in just 90 days, generating billions in new revenue for mass transit and public education over the next four years. We are thankful the Gaming Facility Location Board recognized the tremendous economic impact we will have for New York State.”

Local elected officials are also pleased, including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who has been a major supporter of both Queens proposals being approved.

Casino proposals from Resorts World, Metropolitan Park and Bally’s cleared their penultimate hurdle on Monday. Renderings via Metropolitan Park

“Since the very start of this casino licensing process, both Resorts World and Metropolitan Park have held winning hands, with each putting forth unrivaled community benefits packages to uplift our families and clear-eyed workforce development plans that will generate billions of dollars in wages and tax revenue,” said Richards in a statement. “Together, they embody our borough’s immense potential as a true live, work and play community.”

Following the ruling in Manhattan, Queens Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Grech also expressed his continued support for the bids.

“I think it's a really consequential event,” Grech told the Eagle. “Two of the three that were chosen are in Queens, billions of dollars of private development, tens of thousands of jobs, mostly all union. It's going to be a game changer, not only for Queens, but also for the rest of New York State.”

Casino proposals from Resorts World, Metropolitan Park and Bally’s cleared their penultimate hurdle on Monday.  Renderings via Resorts World

But not all of Queens’ residents were convinced that the casinos were poised to bring prosperity.

A contingent of residents from Flushing and Corona have protested Metropolitan Park for years, worrying it will harm working class communities in the diverse Queens neighborhoods.

Immediately following the announcement that all three projects would be approved, a small group of protestors shouted, “Shame on you,” at the board before leaving the room.

“Our community will never, ever accept Metropolitan Park casino, because this casino will destroy our community,” said activist Jack Hu. “Our fight will continue against this casino until it is completely defeated.”

The detractors worry the casinos will prey on at-risk populations with a history of gambling issues.

“We're extremely disappointed by the decision made by the board today,” said Graciela Quispe, a Corona resident. “We are going to continue fighting this predatory casino development, and we are going to continue holding accountable all of the billionaires and politicians that are involved in this.”

Quispe told the Eagle that while protests have been focused on Metropolitan Park’s impact on Queens, the group isn’t in favor of casinos in general.

“I think all casino development is predatory, and I don't think that the casinos that are being put in these places are necessarily for New Yorkers,” she said. “They're for out-of-towners, they're for Long Islanders, and it just doesn't seem to be serving the community any of the communities that they're placing these casinos in.”

Queens’ potential jackpot

When the state first launched the application process to award three downstate casino bids last year, nearly a dozen applicants from the five boroughs and Westchester County emerged. However, following pushback from local communities in Brooklyn and Manhattan, bids for those boroughs were shot down, and developers behind a plan to build a full-scale casino in Yonkers yanked their proposals over concerns that they would not benefit in the way they had hoped.

What emerged was three bids, all either in or close to Queens, vying for the three licenses.

All three projects have made wide-reaching, complex and expensive proposals seeking to curry the support from the community and the state. Here is what all three bids from Metropolitan Park, Resorts World and Bally’s are promising:

Metropolitan Park

Metropolitan Park is a proposal from New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock, and would create a massive new complex in what is now Citi Field’s parking lot.

The $8 billion project would be centered around the Hard Rock casino, which would feature 5,000 slot machines, 375 table games, and 30 poker tables.

Two hotel towers would be constructed with 1,000 total rooms, aided by several parking garages with 13,112 spaces.

A 5,650-seat capacity Hard Rock entertainment venue will also be built, along with restaurants, retail and 25 acres of new public open space.

The Cohen-led proposal also promises $1 billion in community benefits including the Taste of Queens food hall, as well as a complete overhaul of the adjacent 7 train station.

The project is projected to be completed by June 2030 if approved.

Resorts World

Owned by Malaysian-based conglomerate Genting, Resorts World would expand the company’s current “racino” in Southeast Queens, and would become the largest gaming facility in the country if approved.

The proposed expansion includes a $5.5 billion investment on the 72-acre site, which would include the introduction of 6,000 more slot machines and 800 table games to the gaming establishment.

A new hotel would bring 2,000 new rooms in addition to the 400 existing units at the Hyatt Regency.

Resorts World would also include a 7,000-seat entertainment venue and 12 new acres of green space.

The plan would also include the Resorts World Innovation Campus, which would feature a sports and media complex shaped by Queens native and NBA legend Kenny “The Jet” Smith.

The Genting proposal would be able to open its first phase by the end of March 2026.

The project’s community benefit package includes $2 billion to public education and other community investments.

Resorts World also offered the highest tax rate of any bid – $18 billion in total tax payments in the first decade of operation and upped the ante by pledging an additional $100 million to the state for a licensing fee.

The full project would be completed in 2031.

Bally’s

The bid from Bally's, a Rhode Island-based gaming company, would place a casino complex adjacent to Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point – formerly owned by President Donald Trump – which is right across the Whitestone Bridge from Northern Queens.

Bally’s is proposing a single-phase, $4 billion casino project.

The key components of the project include a massive casino with 3,500 slot machines, 210 table games and 40 poker tables.

The accompanying hotel will have 507 rooms, aided with over 4,600 parking spaces in two garages.

Also included is a 2,000-seat event center, a golf course, nightclub, spa, and several options for food and retail.

Bally’s $625 million community benefit package includes $100 million in improvements to adjacent Ferry Point Park and $75 million in improvements to traffic and transit.

Bally’s also has a proposal that would allow Bronx residents to purchase stock in the resort.

The project would be the largest private development in the history of the Bronx, and would be open by mid-2030.