Helluva Town: MGM, which operates the New York New York casino in Las Vegas, is expected to receive one of the licenses for the actual city.ew York has begun the formal process to license up to three casinos in and around the city’s five boroughs. And the billionaire-backed gambling companies and real estate developers are going all in to bring one to Manhattan.
Building Las Vegas-style casinos in New York City is a seismic shift in the gaming industry. The state already has four casinos, but those are all a few hours away upstate. The two closest places to gamble near Manhattan are racinos: Resorts World in Jamaica, Queens, and Empire City in Yonkers, both of which have horse racetracks and video slot machines, but no table games such as blackjack or roulette.
With a minimum licensing fee of $500 million and a competitive licensing process with only three spots available, lobbyists and gaming companies are expecting an all-out brawl for what’s thought of as.“Manhattan is the biggest prize,” says Nick Antenucci, a lawyer and lobbyist at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron who has worked in New York’s gaming industry for years.
On Monday, the New York State Gaming Commission unanimously approved the appointment of three members to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board. The board will analyze casino applications and recommend up to three facilities to be licensed commercial casinos. With three out of the five board positions filled, the group now has 90 days to issue a request for applications.
A casino in the city is expected to generate more than a billion dollars in annual revenue. Resorts World New York, which is accessible from the subway and owned by, generated $628 million in revenue last year, making it one of the best-performing casinos in the country. These numbers have attracted the likes of Las Vegas Sands, which was founded by the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson, and Wynn Resorts, controlled by billionaire Elaine Wynn.