[NEW YORK] Bidders for three New York City-area casino licences are projecting revenue that would place them among the most lucrative resorts in the world, according to an analysis of their proposals.
In Manhattan, the Freedom Plaza project is expected to generate US$2.2 billion in annual revenue in its first year of operation, rising to US$4.2 billion by year 10, while billionaire Steve Cohen’s project near Citi Field in Queens is forecast to produce US$3.9 billion annually by year three, according to executive summaries the bidders filed with the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board.
Those sums rival some of the world’s top casino performers. Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore generated US$4.2 billion in total revenue last year. Wynn Resorts’ two Las Vegas casinos, the Wynn and Encore, produced a combined US$2.57 billion in revenue in 2024.
The Coney, a resort proposed for Coney Island, is the only project that shared specific revenue estimates by source and year. Its backers, including real estate investor Joe Sitt, project US$669 million in table-game revenue and US$754 million in slot-machine revenue in its first year of operation. By comparison, Wynn’s two Las Vegas casinos generated US$611 million from table games and US$446 million from slots last year.
Eight bidders submitted proposals on Jun 27. Their bids still need approval from groups of state and local officials, and will be summited to the state location board if they pass muster. The board plans to pick the winners by Dec 1.
The projects would bring the first full-fledged casinos to America’s most-populous city. The bidders are a mix of billionaires, property owners and established casino operators. Three of the proposals are for Manhattan, with the rest in a suburb or outer borough. Revenue estimates are just projections, and the numbers may change as the bidders update their offers later in the process.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Caesars Entertainment has proposed a casino in Times Square that it said would generate US$23.3 billion in gambling revenue alone over 10 years. A spokesperson for the project called it an opportunity to generate “historic tax revenue” for the city. “We see all of Times Square becoming the resort, with local restaurants, hotels and Broadway theaters all directly benefiting,” the spokesperson said.
The Avenir, from developer Larry Silverstein, projects US$2.5 billion in gambling revenue in its first full year. “Locating a destination casino in Manhattan will generate the most revenue for the state, according to New York’s own independent study,” the Avenir executive summary said. “It is not in the economic interest of Manhattan to force its tourists to travel to other boroughs to enjoy gaming and its amenities.”
A study by consultants Spectrum Gaming Group projected nearly US$2.1 billion in gambling revenue for a hypothetical Manhattan-based casino, with ones in the outskirts generating far less.
MGM Resorts International, which operates a slot-machine-only facility in Yonkers, and Genting Group’s Resorts World, which has a similar property next to the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, said their gambling revenue would more than double if they’re allowed to add table games like blackjack and sports betting. MGM projected casino revenue of as much as US$1.39 billion annually, while Resorts World said its casino revenue would jump to US$2.2 billion a year by 2027.
Projections from eager developers can sometimes get ahead of reality. The first four casinos to open in upstate New York fell short of initial projections, as did a temporary casino Bally’s opened in Chicago in 2023, ahead of a bigger resort it’s building there.
Bally’s, which is proposing a casino at a company-owned golf course in the Bronx, is projecting US$1 billion a year in gambling revenue when it opens. It said the resort would generate US$200 million annually in gaming-related taxes.
As part of the New York bidding process, candidates will suggest their own tax rates for their casino revenue, a process designed to maximise the state’s take. That last step has not happened yet.
Two of the New York bidders said they were using the minimum 10 per cent tax rate on table games and 25 per cent rate on slot machines required by the state to estimate their proposed tax contributions. Others did not specify tax rates. BLOOMBERG
