Queens Casino Project Faces Challenges Amid Progress
Steve Cohen’s $8 billion dream of a casino near Citi Field moved closer to reality this week. The Mets owner won approval from all five Queens community boards, but there are still plenty of pitches to be thrown before this deal crosses home plate.
Steve Cohen Plays on a Big Field in New York
Steve Cohen is a force to be reckoned with in New York. He wanted the Mets and spent $2.4 billion to get them. Now, he wants to turn 50 acres of parking lot near the Met’s home field stadium at Citi Field into a giant casino, but this time, his reach may have finally exceeded his grasp.
New York decided to put three downstate casino licenses up for bid way back in 2022. But like most things in New York politics, it’s slowly grinding. Most watchers believe the licenses won’t be awarded until at least the end of 2025, perhaps even later.
But just the thought of the 20 million customers who live within a two-hour drive of New York City has every major casino operator in the country fielding partners and making bids. Steve Cohen wasn’t about to be left out of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, literally in his own backyard.
He carefully chose his partnership with Hard Rock Casino and the Seminole Tribe due to their well-recognized brand name and focus on entertainment. Their highly regarded lobbying arm was probably an added bonus.
Hard Rock has been committed to New York since our first restaurant in 1984, and we’re excited to extend our stellar reputation as an employer, community partner, and world-class entertainment company to the World’s Borough.– Jim Allen, Hard Rock International CEO, Hard Rock Press Release
What is Planned to Be Built?
The combined Cohen/ Hard Rock proposal called Metropolitan Park would see 50 acres of what is now asphalt parking turned into a green space with over 20 acres of riding paths and parklands, along with another 5 acres of athletic fields meant for kids and other local community sports teams. The rest of the proposed site would be given over to a Hard Rock-branded hotel, casino, and music venue.
It has received mostly positive reviews from the citizens of the Borough of Queens, where it would be located and hopefully provide somewhere in the ballpark of 15,000 jobs. After securing the five board votes, the road ahead quickly becomes a bit more rocky.
They will likely need the nod from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. Then, the New York Planning Commission and City Council must sign off. The odds of any of those risking Steve Cohen’s ire seem slim.
Obstacles for Cohen
But the current hurdle for the project is Jessica Ramos, a state senator from the 13th district that includes the land where the casino would be located. Her support is needed to “alienate Parkland” that the proposed casino site would need to move forward with their plans.
Since May 2024, she has refused to move forward with the needed proposal. While strictly speaking, under New York Senate precedent, anyone could propose the legislation needed, there have been no takers so far. This would mean the proposed casino will eventually hit a brick wall.
Still, there have been reports that Senator Ramos and representatives for Cohen were seen meeting as recently as early November.
Mrs. Ramos, who announced a mayoral run in September amongst a very crowded Democratic field ahead of the election in November 2025, maybe reconsidering her opposition to a project that has many Unions in the city salivating for a piece of the action.
That, paired with the fundraising kick she would get from any thawing in her relations with Cohen and his very rich friends and partners, may have her rethinking the math on this one. Especially with several deep-pocketed and well-connected New York politicians already throwing their hats in the ring for Mayor Adams’s job very early in the season.
Three Licenses and Lots of Competition
While winning over Senator Ramos or one of her colleagues is crucial to getting the Parkland Alienation legislation through the Senate, it is still far from guaranteeing victory.
There are at least ten other very serious billion-dollar bids for these coveted casino licenses, despite the high tax rates and headaches that come with any large-scale real estate projects in New York City.
At least two of them come from operators already operating limited casino gaming in the city or its outer boroughs. They seem extremely likely to be granted licenses unless something dire happens in the meantime. We are looking at you, Resorts World.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most likely projects to be awarded a license.
MGM’s Empire City
MGM has owned this Yonkers racetrack since 2018. It is already licensed for slots, and with a full-scale license, they could spend an additional three billion adding at least three hundred thousand square feet to make the facility a full-scale destination resort.
This would also triple the local workforce. With this venue already up and operating, it could add millions in additional tax revenue to the state within just a few months of being licensed, which makes it a front-runner.
Resorts World New York City
Resorts World NYC is another casino already up and running in the borough of Queens. Even without table games and a full gaming license, Genting Group, which owns and operates this casino, is the top nontribal casino in the entire US, with more than 900 million in revenue last year.
They propose to spend another 5 billion if granted a license and would also turn the property into a full-scale destination resort. They’ve promised a fourfold increase in Union Jobs to a total of 5,000. They can currently average over 80k a year in salary plus benefits, and half of those jobs would be realized within the first hundred days of being granted the license.
This makes them a serious contender as well, but some blowback from Resorts World in Las Vegas allowing known bookies and other undesirables to gamble has some wondering whether they might face licensing questions. This seems unlikely, and even if faced with some tough questions, there is little to tie the New York property with the management in Las Vegas.
Wynn New York City
Wynn is known for their ultimate luxury destinations. Their $12 billion project dubbed Hudson Yards West would be no exception. Featuring not one but three high-rise buildings with 1500 hotel rooms and another 1500 housing units, with more than three hundred set aside for affordable housing rentals.
A new 750-seat k-8 school, a 5-acre park along the riverfront, a 16,000 square-foot community center, and a 10,000-square-foot daycare also feature prominently in the bid.
While there would be 5,000 full-time union jobs here as well, the real eye-watering number that makes this a plan hard for both politicians and local community activists to look away from is the 35,000 construction jobs that the project would create for several years.
While its location on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, next door to the Javits Center, has brought some community pushback from wealthy neighbors, this project is also a serious contender for one of the three licenses.
Caesars Palace Times Square
Another Midtown location being proposed is Caesars Palace Times Square. Caesars has partnered with SL Green Realty and Jay Z’s Roc Nation to propose a casino in the heart of this once-neglected tourist destination.
They hope to turn the current home of Lion King the Musical into the next destination resort. With 950 hotel rooms and over 250,000 square feet of gaming space, Caesars would certainly have the means to do it, and it is a well-respected and seasoned casino operator in many states.
But current polling shows more than 70% of residents of the area opposed and less than I in ten New Yorkers thinking Times Square is the best spot for a new casino resort. While they have won some unions over to their side, opposition from both Broadway groups and local community boards makes this a long shot.
Other Casino Proposals in the Mix
At least five more competitors are in the race for the downstate licenses, but many stumbled out of the blocks, and others are looking more and more like also-rans as the grueling race continues into its third year.
Bally’s bought Trump’s Link golf course in the Bronx, spending $60 million to show they were serious about their $3 billion bid. Still, the company is already facing financing questions about its 1.3 billion dollar new casino in Chicago as well as about the cost of rebuilding the recently demolished Tropicana on the strip.
A sprawling partnership, more or less headed up by the Chickasaw Nation and Thor equities, along with Saratoga gaming and others, has proposed a $3 billion project on Coney Island dubbed “The Coney.” One would think $3 billion would get better ad companies, but maybe that’s just a placeholder.
In any case, if Skeeball 24/7 is your thing, you’re in luck. It would also boast 500 hotel rooms and about 90,000 square feet of meeting space. They face an uphill battle against community boards, potentially sidelining the project.
Another interesting proposal was presented by real estate tycoon Stepfan Solviev, son of infamous NYC real estate mogul Sheldon Solow and partner Mohegan Sun. The Freedom Plaza casino would apparently sit underground, where the Field of Light installation is currently in Midtown along the East River.
Two 50+-story hotel towers and two residential apartment buildings would be built above it. Questions about Solviev’s lack of casino experience and financing, as well as community pushback, also make this a long shot.
Conclusion
While Steve Cohen and Hard Rock have moved incrementally closer with their casino bid for Metropolitan Park, they still need to lock up more community support, especially that of NY State Senator Jessica Ramos.
Even if they manage to secure those two key things, they still face a raft of other highly competitive bids from some of Manhattan’s wealthiest people and some of the biggest casino operators in the world. All eyes will be on Albany this time next year.
