NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York Mets owner Steve Cohen won approval to operate a casino next to Citi Field in Queens, one of three projects the state Gaming Commission tapped for gambling licenses in the New York City area.
Cohen, the hedge fund mogul who submitted an $8 billion casino proposal with partner Hard Rock International, was picked alongside Genting Group’s Resorts World and Bally’s Corp. Genting proposes to expand a casino next to the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, while Bally’s plans to operate a gaming facility at the site of a Bronx golf course previously developed by President Donald Trump.
The decisions Monday by the commission’s facility location board brings the state near the end of a decade-long process to award as many as three casino licenses in New York’s densely populated downstate region, where the number of potential gamblers offers the prospect of large profits for gaming operators and a robust source of tax revenue for New York.
The winning bids also stand to transform parts of the boroughs outside of Manhattan with the promise of thousands of permanent new jobs, entertainment and nightlife.
The gaming commission is expected to award the licenses by year-end. The process drew widespread interest from real estate owners and developers, many of whom jumped at the chance to wring cash from undeveloped parcels. Eight developers submitted bids, three of which were for sites in Manhattan.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com.