New York City will get a new land-based casino, but it won’t be in Manhattan.
All three proposals to construct a new resort in the Big Apple borough have been shot down by community committee members in recent days, leaving five proposals elsewhere in the city still in the running.
After a community advisory committee (CAC) last week quashed a proposal to build a Caesars Palace casino in Times Square that was supported by Jay-Z, as well as a plan from Rush Street Gaming to build The Avenir in the Hudson Yards area, Mohegan’s idea of setting up a casino near the United Nations headquarters received similar treatment on Monday.
Mohegan’s $11 billion Freedom Plaza proposal, developed in collaboration with the Soloviev Group, would have built hotels, retail, dining and entertainment venues and housing in addition to a new casino but was rejected in a 4-2 vote on Sept. 22.
That was the same voting split that kiboshed Caesars and Rush Street and went along the same lines, with only the committee members nominated by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams voting yes.
It means that Manhattan will still have to make do without a full-service casino. The majority of New York City’s casinos are located uptown. in the city.
Manhattan’s three down, five to go
There are now five proposals still in the race to secure one of the maximum of three licenses for a lucrative new brick-and-mortar casino in the New York City area.
Bally’s wants to open a casino on a Bronx public golf course, Hard Rock International has designs for a casino next to the New York Mets’ Citi Field in Queens, the other Queens proposal would see Genting open Resorts World New York City, MGM Resorts International would turn Yonkers’ MGM Empire City into a full casino and The Coney would similarly soup up its Coney Island racino in Brooklyn.
Two other operators, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, abandoned their bids before even reaching the CAC process.
All regional CACs must confirm their recommendations by Sept. 30 ahead of the state gaming commission’s decision later this year. The New York State Gaming Facility Location Board expects to award the three downstate casino permits before the end of the year. It can only opt for proposals that have been approved by CACs.
