The battle for three New York City-area casino licenses has been going on for more than two years, and it looks as if it may last another 18 months or more.
Multi-billion dollar projects have been touted next to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Citi Field; at Hudson Yards near the Jacob Javits Convention Center; a Caesars plan for Times Square; another near the United Nations; and others in The Bronx, at Coney Island, or adjacent to Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
But by the end of a one-hour panel at The Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga Springs, New York this week, it became clear that a rather mundane result may occur — and not until the end of 2025, at the earliest.
And that would be, simply upgrading the Yonkers Raceway in Westchester County and Aqueduct Raceway in Queens from horse racing track/slots parlors into full-fledged casinos.
That would be a huge win for MGM and Genting — the owners of the racinos — and net the state a combined $1 billion in one-time licensing fees.
But it would be a letdown to a casual observer who was curious where in The Big Apple — specifically, Manhattan — a casino would be located. Because moderator and conference organizer Patrick Brown and his five speakers laid out how and why the entire much-ballyhooed bidding war may collapse on itself.
Community (puffs its) chest
A key element is the fact that any bidder must curry favor with two-thirds of a “Community Advisory Committee” even before a “Gaming Facility Location Board” of five Governor Kathy Hochul-appointed members could consider the application.
Historically across the US, an established gambling site such as a racetrack does not face significant public opposition to gambling expansion. But introducing a casino — especially a multi-billion dollar behemoth — is seen by many elected officials as political suicide.
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