Edited by: TJVNews.com
Since the mention of transforming certain venues in New York City into high rolling gambling hubs, many prominent personalities and prestigious companies have joined the fray of those interested in such a venture.
According to a recent report in the New York Post, Vornado Realty Trust is expected to jump in with others for want to bid for the establishment of a gambling mecca near Madison Square Garden.
Speaking to the Post, a source familiar with the situation told them that Vornado, which happens to be the second-largest commercial landlord, is considering whether to place a bid on a prized casino license at the site of the soon-to-be demolished Hotel Pennsylvania.
Last week, the Post reported that Saks Fifth Avenue has confirmed its plans to bid for a casino license on the top floors of its flagship store located between East 49th and East 50th streets, next to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The iconic Pennsylvania Hotel which is now closed sits squarely in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed, nine-block redevelopment around a “new” Penn Station, the Post reported. Vornado is designated to develop five of eight office sites, where some buildings will be demolished and tenants evicted. The hotel’s demolition will be completed by the end of the year, the report added.
When delivering her State of the State address recently, Hochul omitted her Penn Station-area redevelopment proposal , which would cost $306 billion to fully build which gave critics of the plan some hope as they want a less costly and less destructive way to create a new station, the Post reported.
The Penn scheme didn’t appear, either, in the governor’s 267-page, “Achieving the New York Dream” agenda featuring “147 bold initiatives” that was released in conjunction with the speech.
When contacted by the Post for comment on whether Vornado is poised to offer a bid on a gambling casino near Madison Square Garden, a representative said, “We are studying the possibility of applying for a casino license [in the Penn Station area], but we have no deal in place. Our most important criterion for any project is that it meet the economic development objectives and produce the transit and public improvements set forth in the state’s General Project Plan.”
The Post commented in its report that a response from Vornado as it pertains to media inquiries is quite rare,
“We fully support the state’s GPP for the Penn district,” Vornado’s statement reiterated, the Post reported.
The Post also reported that Vornado’s statement didn’t mention a partner. A source, however, confirmed for the Post that Vornado chairman Steven Roth is talking to Midwest gaming mogul Neil Gary Bluhm, the managing principal of Walton Street Capital, who has a net worth estimated by Forbes at $6 billion.
If Vorrnado should decide to throw its proverbial hat in the ring and make a bid for a casino license, it would be competing against some formidable competitors, such as Related Companies, owned by Stephen Ross of Hudson Yards fame and SL Green, who is Vornado’s rival in the city’s real estate arena. SL Green is the city’s largest commercial landlord, the Post reported.
SL Green has teamed with Caesars Entertainment in Times Square; Related Companies and Wynn Resorts are eyeing Hudson Yards; Soloviev Group wants a site on First Avenue near the UN; Hudson’s Bay Company hopes to put a casino at Saks Fifth Avenue; Mets owner Steve Cohen may possibly team with Hard Rock for one at Willets Point, Queens; and Thor Equities is gambling on Coney Island, the Post reported.
