Following in the footsteps of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts announced Monday it’s withdrawing its bid for a casino license in New York.
In its earnings call with Wall Street analysts earlier this month, Wynn CEO Craig Billings indicated some reservations by saying the operator wouldn’t “get over its skis” to win a gaming license in New York.
“After careful consideration, we have decided not to lodge an application for a gaming license in New York City,” Wynn said in a statement released to CDC Gaming on Monday. “The recent rezoning process has made it clear to us that there are uses for our capital more accretive to our shareholders, such as investment in our existing and upcoming developments and stock buybacks, than investing in an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition despite our willingness to employ 5,000 New Yorkers.”
The statement went on to thank those who supported their efforts, including Related Companies, and that Wynn “continues to believe that their proposed Hudson Yards West development is an outstanding opportunity for New York City.”
A source from the Commercial Observer, a New York City commercial real estate publication, stated that “Related will likely move forward with the zoning change it’s seeking to build the casino, but without a gaming resort as part of the project.”
Wynn, which has properties in Las Vegas, Boston, and Macau, has been focused on its $5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island project in the United Arab Emirates set to open in 2027.
At its earnings call, Billings said they remained bullish on New York and were prepared to put together “a fair proposal.” He called it a complicated market with a lot of considerations.
“You’ve heard some of our peers talk about online gaming, and it’s certainly a point of concern for us,” Billings said. “We also need to consider the impact of tariffs on build cost and on top of that, the local politics are complicated. We continue to be in the running in New York, but we will absolutely not get over our skis to win (a license) there.”
Last month after dropping hints the last two quarters about its bid for a casino license in New York, Las Vegas Sands announced it was dropping out of the competition and working to sell its interests in the $6 billion resort planned for Long Island.
“We strongly believe in the development opportunity for a land-based downstate casino license in New York,” President and COO Patrick Dumont said. “We also continue to believe that the Nassau Coliseum site (in Long Island) is the best location for that development opportunity and should be highly competitive in the New York casino licensing process. However, as we previously stated, the company remains concerned about the potential impact of the legalization of igaming on the overall market opportunity and project returns.”
Dumont said Sands was in the process “of attempting to secure an agreement with a third party with whom we can transact the opportunity to bid for a casino license on a Nassau Coliseum site.” This may include those who may be able to address both land-based and digital markets in New York, he added.
Dumont did not name the third party during the earnings call.
