3 hotel casinos approved for New York City

Dive Brief:

• Three large-scale hotel casino projects have been approved for New York City following a Monday vote by the New York State Gaming Commission, according to an announcement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. No construction timelines were released.
• In Flushing, Queens, Hard Rock International and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen will bring Metropolitan Park to a 50-acre area surrounding the baseball team’s home stadium of Citi Field. Also in Queens, Resorts World New York City, which is owned by the Genting Group, will be expanding its existing slot machine establishment in South Ozone Park near the Aqueduct Racetrack into a 72-acre site. And in Ferry Point, the Bronx, Bally’s Corporation will build a 3 million-square-foot integrated resort. 
• Monday’s vote was the culmination of a multi-year process that saw several casino bids fail to achieve community support, such as a scrapped plan to construct a complex in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, and multiple Manhattan casino bids that were either withdrawn or not approved.

Dive Insight:

The three winning proposals “had local support, clear community benefits and sustainable economic plans,” Hochul said in a statement, adding that the trio of approved casinos would “generate billions of dollars for the MTA and education, create tens of thousands of jobs and deliver real benefits to their surrounding communities.”

The $8.1 billion Metropolitan Park will feature a Hard Rock hotel, a casino and sportsbook, restaurants and bars, retail shopping, meetings and events space and a 5,650-capacity theater-style venue, per a release. The complex will also include the Taste of Queens food hall, which will showcase Queens-based food vendors. The project’s ownership team includes Cohen, Hard Rock International, construction firm McKissack & McKissack and investment bank Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

“Since the day I bought the team, the community and Mets fans have made it clear to me that we can and should do better with the area around the ballpark,” Cohen said in the release. “Now, we are going to be able to deliver the sports and entertainment district that our fans have been asking for.”

The Resorts World New York City $7.5 billion proposal is expected to include a $5.5 billion physical investment in the 72-acre Aqueduct site and will feature a 2,000-key hotel, building on the 400 existing units at the Hyatt Regency currently located there, per the release. In addition, there will be a 500,000-square-foot gaming floor, a new 7,000-seat multipurpose entertainment venue, more than 7,000 parking spaces and more than 12 acres of new public green space.

“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,” Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said in a release. The company plans to have “hundreds of table games available” on site by the end of March 2026.

Meanwhile, Bally’s $4 billion, 250-foot-tall casino project in the Bronx is slated to include a 500-key upscale hotel as well as 500,000 square feet of gaming space and a 2,000-person event center, as well as expansive parking and multiple dining and entertainment venues intended to highlight the Bronx.

“Bally’s is prepared to make the largest private investment in the borough’s history, and with it a long-term commitment to community benefits for Bronx residents,” Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corporation, said in a June release about the project.