September is a time of change. The season is transitioning from summer to fall. Daylight is fading faster than a baseball team from San Francisco. The return of football brings life to sportsbooks everywhere, retail and cyber. It is Betting Season. Wagering in August was between $7 billion and $8 billion; in September it will be in the $12 billion to 14 billion range, if current trends continue.
In New York, it is Bidding Season; the final committee reviews are in process. For the bidders so far, the news is not good. It seems that given a choice, New Yorkers do not want a casino in their backyards, regardless of the amenities, jobs, perks and other promises. Freedom Plaza, Times Square, and Hell’s Kitchen are a firm no. The Coney on the Brooklyn seafront is probably going down in defeat before its Community Advisory Committee (CAC), according to local reports. Bally’s, with a bid in Bronx, and a Hard Rock in Queens are still possible. Hard Rock probably has an advantage, as its development partner is Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, a sort of hometown boy. Mayor Eric Adams favors Bally’s. Like the Yankees and the Mets, they are going to spend big bucks to win, but it is never certain which will be best.
Considered shoo-ins are the two existing racinos, Resorts World in Queens and MGM Empire City in Yonkers, just over the city line. If the racinos win, only one license remains. So, assuming The Coney goes down, one more bidder gets the bitter pill of rejection. Bally’s could save itself the humiliation of rejection by packing its bags as Las Vegas Sands, Wynn, and the Saks Fifth Avenue project did. Reading the handwriting on the wall is sometimes the easiest and least expensive way. And New York is always an expensive place to play.
The New York City casino license process has hardly been seasonal. It began in 2013 with legislation authorizing seven new casinos in the state. Four have been built and are operating, though none have quite met the expectations of legislators and promoters. Total GGR from the four for 2024 was $678 million. During the debates, lawmakers expected that much from each licensee.
In 2022, the state initiated a new process to select the final three licenses granted to the “Downstate” region, code for the Big Apple. The final choice will be made by the New York Gaming Location Board. Before that decision, each bidder had to find a community willing to host its proposed project. Community boards for each bid were to review bids, hold meetings, and either approve or disapprove of the project. The CAC approval is a prerequisite to being considered by the Location Board.
CAC approval proved to be the most important element and the most difficult to obtain. Except for the two racinos, the bidders have found New Yorkers to be a tough, belligerent, and disagreeable bunch. “Don’t tarnish my Times Square, Freedom Plaza, and Coney Island” echoed from neighborhood to neighborhood. The theaters on Broadway even put it up in lights.
As summer turns to winter, New York will move closer to knowing the names and locations of the casinos it will host. Spring in New York City could bloom with blackjack and roulette tables, full casinos just a subway ride away; Resorts World has its own subway station. The racinos are ready to expand their gaming, even while they upgrade the facilities and invest the promised billions of dollars. The other license is years, not seasons, away from becoming a reality. Even the date for the issuance may still be in doubt. State Senator Joseph Addabbo has said the state might not meet the promised schedule, after too much time wasted in neighborhood debates.
The debates were both contagious and entertaining — and every minute covered by the media. Nothing goes unnoticed in New York City; every borough has its own newspaper. Besides those, even the big guys, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and New York Post have kept their eye on the ball. All took sides, fueling the emotions and turning up the heat on every discussion. As every professional athlete knows, it is hard to play in New York City: No one ever measures up to the media expectations.
One of the reporters suggested that losing bidders should insist on an investigation into the process, the CAC committee members, and even the Gaming Commission. It is New York, after all, and surely bribes are being paid, backroom politics played, rigging and cheaters stealing the brass ring. If there was any rigging, it took place in creating the procedure. Knowledge and experienced politicians should have known community approval would be almost impossible to achieve. It is not seasonal: New Yorkers love their neighborhood and do not want anything or anyone to change it. It is a New York state of mind.
