Resorts World New York has issued a raft of new investment pledges as it ups the ante in the bid for a casino license in the Big Apple.
As part of a supplemental application submitted to the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board, the Genting Group subsidiary has committed a further $2bn to community benefits surrounding the proposed expansion of Resorts World’s current slots-only venue at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
This, combined with the projected $5.5bn spend on developing the casino resort, brings Resorts World’s investment to $7.5bn.
Of the three bids remaining following MGM Resorts’ abrupt withdrawal of its Yonkers project, Resorts World’s is the only one building on an existing structure, with the other two starting from the ground up.
Its financial commitment eclipses that of Bally’s, which is $4bn, but falls short of Hard Rock’s $8bn proposal to develop a casino next to the New York Mets’ Citi Field Stadium with the MLB team’s owner, Steve Cohen.
Resorts World also states that it is willing to pay a licensing fee of $600m, $100m more than the minimum licensing fee set out by the state.
“No other project will come online faster, generate more financial impact, create more jobs or send more revenue to the state’s education fund, the MTA and local communities than Resorts World New York City,” said Robert DeSalvio, President of Genting Americas East.
If successful, Resorts World expects to be able to open its doors to customers by June 2026.
By comparison, Bally’s has not provided an expected opening date for its proposed casino, located in the Bronx, while Hard Rock expects construction to be completed in 2030.
Resorts World’s analysts project that its casino would return state and local tax payments of up to $18.8bn in the first 10 years of operations.
The company also promises to deliver “the highest gross gaming revenue and casino taxes of any applicant”, irrespective of the eventual number of licences handed out.
Although this announcement came before MGM Resorts indicated its intentions to exit the process, the company’s bullishness contradicts the latter’s lack of confidence in the future prosperity of the New York casino market, considering the remaining candidates.
MGM Resorts stated that it no longer made economic sense to pursue the expansion of its MGM Empire City venue into a fully-fledged casino resort, citing the “small geographic area” in which the remaining projects are clustered as one of the reasons for its decision.
Although three projects remain and there are three licences available, New York’s Gaming Board has confirmed that there is no guarantee that all three licences will be handed out, and each application will now be judged on a set of criteria linked largely to their potential economic impact.
The Gaming Facility Location Board then has until 1 December to make its recommendations to the New York State Gaming Commission, which will have until 31 December to issue up to three licences.
Reinforcing its commitment to its New York expansion, earlier this month, Genting Bhd also launched a full takeover bid for the casino and hospitality arm of Genting Malaysia, in a deal that could be worth up to $1.6bn.
Should the deal be accepted, Genting Bhd expects it to aid its New York casino project by streamlining the group’s funding process.
