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Who Are The Top Bidders for a Lucrative NYC Casino License?
By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
The deadline for bidders to submit applications to be considered for one of the three up-for-grabs downstate New York City Casino license is creeping closer—set for June 27, 2025. The decision will be made by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board and licenses will be awarded by Dec. 31, 2025. “There’s still a large market for land-based casinos in this country and the New York City metropolitan market in particular,” said Albany Law School Professor Bennett Liebman, a former deputy secretary to the governor for gaming and racing.
As reported by the NY Post, there are 11 deep-pocketed bidders vying for the money-making licenses in and around NYC. Cumulatively, these developers and gaming companies have already spentmillions of dollars on lobbying and media consultants to push their bids to local and state officials. Here is the complete list of these bidders.
Developer Related Companies, who built Hudson Yards, has partnered with Wynn Resorts to submit a bid to build a Casino in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. The proposed $12 billion casino complex would include a hotel, office space, apartments, and a 5.6-acre park.
On the plus side, a casino there would have views of the Hudson River, boost the new neighborhood which has room to grow and have a positive impact on the neighboring Javits Convention Center. The project, however, is facing community opposition from friends of the High Line, and the plan has yet to garner strong support from local elected officials.
Manhattan-based SL Green Realty Corp. has partnered with Caesars Entertainment and Jay-Z Roc Nation to offer a $4 billion casino complex in Times Square, at SL’s building at 1515 Broadway. The partners say this would breathe new life into Midtown Manhattan and boast about Jay-Z’s entertainment capacity. Critics of the plan include the Broadway League and the No Times Square coalition who fear a casino would only hurt businesses and theatres there.
Another Manhattan-based proposal has been spearheaded by Larry Silverstein’s Silverstein Properties in partnership with Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment. The plan, dubbed the Avenir, would add a 1.8 million-square-foot hotel, casino, entertainment and residential complex on vacant land at West 41st Street and 11th Avenue, located north of the Jacob Javits Center. Currently, the plan is facing opposition from the local community, per the Post.
Saks Fifth Avenue and Hudson’s Bay Company are also in the race, hoping to win a casino license to add onto the top floors of its flagship luxury department store at 611 Fifth Ave. between East 49th and East 50th streets. The companies say the project would add traffic back to the shopping and tourist corridor. On the flip side, it will be a challenge to get a casino approved right next door to one of New York’s most famed Catholic churches.
Per the Post, real-estate scion Stefan Soloviev has partnered with Mohegan Sun to offer a bid for a casino located in Midtown East River. The plan, named Freedom Tower, would add four towers along the East River with apartments and hotels and an underground casino. It would also build a “Freedom Museum” and add 6.7 acres of green space. The plan has not yet gained support from local politicians.
Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen, together with Hard Rock International, have been working to submit a casino bid for Willets Points/Flushing Meadows in undeveloped parcels near Met’s Citi Field. The proposed $8 billion gaming center, would feature a hotel and music venue. The project still needs zoning approval from the state legislature to convert the designated parkland property into commercial space. Local state Sen. Jessica Ramos expressed opposition to the plan, which would also contend with business at Aqueduct’s existing slots business nearby.
Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct by developer Genting/Resorts World Casino has also prepared a $5 billion plan to add live table games to its existing slots parlor in Jamaica, Queens. The proposal would also add a new 7,000-seat concert venue and sports training facility. The bid has strong support from the local community and local officials, the Post reported.
In Brooklyn, Thor Equities, Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming Solutions, Saratoga Casino Holdings and Legends Hospitality Group have teamed up to rejuvenate Coney Island with a $3 billion plan to add a casino, hotel and convention hall near the boardwalk and beach. Strong opposition to the establishment of a casino in Coney Island still exists and both community groups and local businesses are waging a ardent campaign against its formation. Observers have noted that due to palpable resistance, it is highly unlikely that any such casinos will be built in or around the Coney Island area,
There’s a bid for the Bronx too. Bally’s Casino, who purchased the golf course at Ferry Point from the Trump Organization, is preparing a bid to convert parts of the site’s parking lot and practice range into a casino center. The bid would need legislative zoning approval to convert the current parkland into commercial use. The location offers waterfront views, and easy access from Queens, The Bronx, Long Island and Westchester County.
Developer Las Vegas Sands has hopes to bring a casino to Long Island’s Nassau County in Uniondale. It’s bid entails converting the Nassau Veterans Memorial Museum Coliseum into a casino complex with a live performance theater, a hotel and wellness spa, dining and convention space. The plan has strong support from LI’s Republican-led government, but it’s close proximity to Hofstra University is a topic of contention.
The existing Yonkers Raceway and its Empire City Casino opened with its slot-machine-style gaming in 2006. Now, MGM Resorts International has a $3 billion bid to expand this gaming center to offer live betting tables. John Sabini, former chairman of the state racing and wagering board, told The NY Post that the existing slots-parlors at Aqueduct and Yonkers are the “favorites” to win two of the three available licenses. Even though the plans lack the glamor of some of the newly proposed sites, the two existing sites have strong political support and already have a proven track-record of tax-generating revenues. “I would say the `racinos’ are the favorites. They have a track record of being a partner with the state for a long time,” Sabini said.
