Resorts World casino expansion approved by local committee

The six members of the Community Advisory Committee – State Senator James Sanders Jr., Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer-Amato, Borough President Donovan Richards, Nicole Garcia, the Queens borough commissioner for the city Department of Transportation, Stevens Martinez, the deputy director of intergovernmental affairs on Long Island and Community Board 10 Chair Betty Bratton –  voted to approve the Resorts World casino bid at Queens Borough Hall on Thursday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach 

By Ryan Schwach & Jacob Kaye

Resorts World’s plan to put the nation’s largest casino in Southeast Queens cleared a major hurdle on Thursday following unanimous approval from the community advisory committee tasked with reviewing it.

The $5.5 billion proposal will now head to the State Gaming Commission, which will decide which of the remaining bidders will win one of the three downstate casino licenses it plans to hand out by the end of the year.

While the Resorts World proposal is considered a favorite to get a full gaming license, there are no guarantees the gamble pays off.

Resorts World, which already operates a racino in Queens, is now one of five remaining city casino proposals vying for three downstate casino licenses after a trio of Manhattan casinos were rejected by their committees. That number may quickly be whittled down to three after a CAC tasked with reviewing a plan to bring a casino to Coney Island said it was planning to vote it down.

All six representatives on the Resorts World Community Advisory Committee voted in favor of the project – as they were long expected to – and spoke highly of the proposal’s potential benefits to Southeast Queens and the borough at large.

“[Resorts World] has already been a good neighbor,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. “With the expansion, they will be a better neighbor to Southern Queens.”

Local elected officials State Senator James Sanders Jr., and State Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato also voted “yes.”

“I trust them, they have proven to be people of their word,” said Sanders, who voted virtually from South Africa. “They realize this community has a long memory, and they want to be remembered well. So, I feel very comfortable voting a very strong ‘aye’ for this project.”

Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul’s delegates to the CAC, Nicole Garcia, the Queens borough commissioner for the city Department of Transportation, and Stevens Martinez, the deputy director of intergovernmental affairs on Long Island, also approved the proposal.

The Queens racino – operated by Malaysian-based conglomerate Genting – first opened in 2011 and currently features a number of slots and other electronic betting games. Winning a casino license would allow Resorts World to open 800 gaming tables and expand to 6,000 slot machines.

Robert DeSalvio, the president of Genting East, Resorts World’s owner after the vote. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach 

The proposal also includes plans to build 2,000 hotel rooms, a 7,000-seat arena, 30 bars and restaurants, a spa, a day club, a convention area and 12-acres of public green space. Resorts World claims the project would create up to 24,000 jobs.

Resorts World has also committed to putting $1.5 billion into community benefits, including $150 million toward infrastructure improvements, $50 million toward its proposed “innovation campus” and $25 million to its existing charity program, Resorts World Gives.

Perhaps Resorts World’s biggest advantage is that it could begin construction on the expanded casino and entertainment complex the day after its granted a license.

Beyond having the necessary city and state permissions, Resorts World’s existing operation would likely allow it to open far sooner than some of the other proposed projects. According to Resorts World, they could begin to welcome full-scale casino guests as early as July 2026.

“We've been a great neighbor, but that neighborhood has been great for us as well, and we're so happy that we could be there for many years to come show what a true international destination Resorts World could be,” said Robert DeSalvio, the president of Genting Americas East, immediately following the vote. “We can really work with the community and make this a true destination that works for the neighbors and the residents as well as for Resorts.”

The CACs unanimous approval came after two community hearings at Queens Borough Hall, which did not include any voices in opposition to the plan.

Richards, Pheffer Amato and Sanders, Jr., who all appointed themselves to the CAC, have praised Resorts World in the past.

Rendering Via Resorts World

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ delegate Betty Bratton, who chairs Community Board 10, had also spoken positively of Resorts World.

Immediately following the unanimous decision, CAC members congratulated Resorts World executives, exchanging hugs and handshakes.

The original eight proposals vying for the three downstate casino licenses have been reduced to five after three Manhattan CACs rejected casinos in their communities last week.

Casino proposals in Times Square, Hudson Yards and the East Side were all shot down by their respective CACs last week, leaving Resorts World, Metropolitan Park, Bally’s in the Bronx, The Coney, proposed for Coney Island and MGM Empire City, the existing partial casino in Yonkers which was approved by its CAC on Thursday as well.

The Coney Island proposal, which will face a vote on Monday, has a significant chance of being shot down after several local officials came out against it.

That could mean only four proposals head to the State Gaming Commission, including two from Queens.

The CAC for Queens’ other casino proposal project, Metropolitan Park, is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Tuesday, the day of the committee’s deadline.

Metropolitan Park, the $8 million casino proposed by Mets owner Steve Cohen, also has significant support from its committee, and is likely to move forward.

Richards, Assemblymember Larinda Hooks and Councilmember Francisco Moya, also all self- appointed, have all vocally supported the plan prior to the forming of the CAC.

State Senator Jessica Ramos, the only elected official to have vocally opposed Metropolitan Park, also has a representative on the CAC in local district leader George Dixon.

However, even if Dixon ultimately votes against, representatives for Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul on each CAC have so far approved all the casino projects that have already been voted on.

In addition to the casino, the Metropolitan Park proposal includes plans to build a hotel, several parking garages, a convention center, a live music venue and a food hall. It also would include 25 acres of open space interspersed within the complex.

With only a few remaining bids, the World’s Borough is now virtually guaranteed a casino and could very well end up with two, making the borough the potential center of New York’s gambling world.

“It's a very interesting scenario that could be created here,” Queens State Senator Joe Addabbo, who chairs the Gaming Committee in the Senate and who used to count Resorts World as a constituent, told the Eagle earlier this week ahead of the Resorts World vote.

Immediately following the vote, Richards was asked what Queens might look like in the near future with two full-fledged casinos less than seven-miles apart.

“It's a win for the residents here,” he said. “This is going to be a destination. It's already a destination, but now you're talking about an international destination as we build up and rebuild Queens in a better way.”

“Both of these licenses make the most sense,” he added. “Yes, we can have two in our borough.”

The Gaming Commission is expected to award three bidders with a license in the final days of 2025.