On Thursday, June 27, the New York State Gaming Facility Location Board (PDF) introduced its choice to increase the bid submission deadline for 3 downstate casinos to June 27, 2025. This choice comes at the same time as a invoice proposing an August 31, 2024 deadline awaits Governor Kathy Hochul‘s signature.

Below present New York regulation, three downstate casinos might be established in business areas inside and round New York Metropolis. Presently, 11 entities are vying to put their casinos in areas starting from Occasions Sq. to Brooklyn. These bidders are proposing casinos and providing further facilities resembling resorts, housing items, and neighborhood enhancements to garner assist.

Senator Joe Addabbo’s invoice (S9673A), handed via each the Home and Senate in early June, has but to obtain Governor Hochul’s endorsement. Ought to it’s signed into regulation, the invoice would necessitate bidders to submit their proposals by the tip of summer time. Nevertheless, members of the Facility Location Board imagine this timeline is impractical. They indicated that an earlier submission deadline is unlikely to have an effect on the target of granting licenses by the tip of 2025.

Board Rejects August 2024 Deadline

Throughout Thursday’s assembly, board members overtly acknowledged the battle with S9673A. The board considers the present deadline unfeasible as a result of bids can’t be evaluated till all vital “entitlements and zoning” are authorised.

Vicki Been, chair of the board, remarked on the extension of the downstate on line casino bid deadline, stating, “The hope can be that our reasoning might be useful to the governor.” This assertion means that whereas politicians may need a faster deadline, the board deems such a timeline impractical.

Potential bidders should safe zoning modifications and full environmental affect research earlier than their bids might be reviewed. As an illustration, proposals like Bally’s Bronx and Steve Cohen’s Queens require rezoning websites at present designated as parkland. Each events have advocated for these modifications with native and state boards, however no reclassifications have but been finalized.

Board member Stuart Rabinowitz acknowledged that if Governor Hochul indicators the invoice into regulation, the brand new laws would override the board’s choice.

Eleven On line casino Proposals in Consideration

At the moment, the checklist of proposals for the downstate on line casino licenses consists of each business and tribal operators. The proposed initiatives and their respective builders and operators are as follows:

• Avenir, Developer: Silverstein Properties; On line casino Operator: Greenwood Gaming; Location: Manhattan
• Bally’s Hyperlinks at Ferry Level, Developer and On line casino Operator: Bally’s Company; Location: The Bronx
• Caesars Palace Occasions Sq., Builders: Caesars Leisure, SL Inexperienced, Roc Nation; On line casino Operator: Caesars Leisure; Location: Manhattan
• The Coney, Builders: Thor Equities, Legends Leisure, the Chickasaw Nation, Saratoga On line casino Holdings; On line casino Operator: Saratoga On line casino Holdings; Location: Brooklyn
• Freedom Plaza, Developer: Soloviev Group; On line casino Operator: Mohegan Gaming; Location: Manhattan
• Metropolitan Park, Developer: Steven Cohen; On line casino Operator: Laborious Rock Worldwide; Location: Queens
• MGM Empire Metropolis, Developer and On line casino Operator: MGM Resorts Worldwide; Location: Yonkers
• Resorts World New York Metropolis, Developer and On line casino Operator: Genting Group; Location: Queens
• Sands New York, Developer and On line casino Operator: Las Vegas Sands; Location: Lengthy Island, Nassau County
• Saks Fifth Avenue, Developer: Hudson’s Bay Firm; On line casino Operator: to be decided; Location: Manhattan
• Wynn New York Metropolis, Builders: Associated Firms, Oxford Properties Group; On line casino Operator: Wynn Resorts; Location: Manhattan

The deadline extension is seen as a transfer to make sure that all bidding entities have adequate time to fulfill the mandatory necessities and that the choice course of is thorough and efficient, aiming to serve the long-term pursuits of New York Metropolis and its surrounding areas.