NEW YORK | Casino Development| FT| FLOORS

[mrnyc]

^ i dk about that, but hey they should know. i guess they figure they can get in a couple years ahead of the full casino awards. its a small place out by smithtown.

[NYguy]

^ That’ll be enough for some.



https://finance.yahoo.com/news/not-o...172700645.html

Not only New York casinos threaten Atlantic City. Developer predicts Meadowlands casino is coming


WAYNE PARRY
Thu, Apr 18, 2024

Atlantic City casinos are facing threats on multiple fronts from new competitors not just in New York, but from within their own state.

That's not great news for a seaside resort in which the amount of money won from in-person gamblers continues to lag, with seven of the nine casinos winning less from on-premises customers than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

At the East Coast Gaming Congress Thursday at the Hard Rock casino, numerous executives from some of the major casino companies in America acknowledged the opportunity of three downstate New York casino licenses — and the risk they will present to Atlantic City.

And the operator of a racetrack in northern New Jersey, just outside New York City, told The Associated Press he believes New Jersey voters will authorize construction of a casino in the Meadowlands shortly after New York casinos open and New Jersey gamblers tire of paying bridge tolls and sitting in traffic to get to gambling halls in New York.

“Now more than ever we know there's a threat coming with New York City gaming coming,” Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said at the conference. “We understand the threat. We want to continue to work together to do things right to put Atlantic City into a prime position, no matter where these casinos are, that we diversify our options.”

Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, is straddling both markets.

His company operates a casino in Atlantic City that is the second-most successful in the market. And Hard Rock is partnering with New York Mets owner Steve Cohen on a proposed $8 billion casino complex at Citi Field in the city's Queens section.

If as many as three casino open in or close to New York City, Allen said, Atlantic City's in-person gambling revenues could fall by 20% to 30%.

“We have to be prepared for that,” he told attendees at the conference.

Allen said Atlantic City's Hard Rock will weather the storm of New York competition. But he said he does not want to see any competitors in the city close, throwing 2,000 to 3,000 people out of work in a repetition of a wave of casino closings in Atlantic City from 2014 to 2016 that saw five casinos close. Two have since reopened under new ownership.

Tom Reeg. CEO of Caesars Entertainment, which owns three of Atlantic City's nine casinos, also said New York casinos will be a challenge. His company, too, is seeking a New York casino license with SL Green, and Roc Nation in Times Square.

“We're pursuing that license with fervor,” Reeg said. “I share Jim's concern about where the (Atlantic City) market is headed as we head into New York.”

[NYguy]

https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...s/73360837007/

Casinos at Hudson Yards, Citi Field? Atlantic City casinos see a major threat


Daniel Munoz
April 18, 2024

A New Jersey casino executive and the state’s top gaming lobbyist said during a major casino conference Wednesday that a New York City casino could be a “threat” to the gambling industry in New Jersey.

Those remarks by Mark Giannantonio — president of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and president of the trade group the Casino Association of New Jersey — echoed similar remarks made by a top gaming executive last year.

” They’re going to be Las Vegas-style massive properties and they will generate new business — of course people coming up from South America, Europe, Asia,” Giannantonio told reporters after a panel hosted by the East Coast Gaming Congress at Hard Rock in Atlantic City Wednesday.

“It’s also going to impact eastern Pennsylvania, Atlantic City, Connecticut," he said.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is lobbying state officials for his plans to build an $8 billion casino with Hard Rock near Citi Field in Queens. Sands has plans for a sprawling casino resort on Long Island, having already completed a long-term lease purchase of property at the site of the Nassau Coliseum.

Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts and developer Related Cos. are partnering with plans for a $12 billion casino at the Hudson Yards area in Manhattan along the Hudson River.

Another casino has been proposed for Times Square, and another on the East Side close to the United Nations world headquarters.

“If it ends up in Manhattan, either Hudson Yards, Times Square or the East Side, it’s going to be fairly devastating, I think, for Atlantic City,” said David Naczycz, executive director of the Fintech and Sports Wagering Innovation Center, based out of Jersey City.

A casino elsewhere in the New York metro area, such as Queens, would be less impactful for Atlantic City, he said.

“The trip from Montclair to far east Queens is just as bad as the trip down to Atlantic City, and there’s more tolls,” Naczycz said.

[Busy Bee]

I feel sorry for Atlantic City. I do. It's a great place with a great history. But I think their original catastrophic mistake was looking to gambling to bolster it's prosperity. The ship has sailed IMO on thinking casinos are going to fully revive - or even sustain - AC. They should have skipped right over that and focused on making AC a huge regional amusement and entertainment destination that fit the times and not switching gears by letting that historically dominant segment of their economy wither on the vine of irrelevancy and put all their chips if you will on thinking gambling tourism was going to save them.

Atlantic City instead should have focused on being the absolute best destination on the east coast for amusement park thrill seekers and live entertainment - including long term residencies - almost like a Branson, MO for the eastern seaboard. That doesn't necessarily have to skew lame or towards old people if the entertainers - not just musical - offered something for everyone. There's also no reason Atlantic City shouldn't and couldn't be a destination for lots of travelling concert tours with or without a gambling presence as long as a critical mass of visitors are there during the April-Oct season.

[mrnyc]

yeah the lock vegas and ac had on legal gambling has gone by the wayside via a thousand cuts. ac was too lazy with its initial prosperity, hopefully they can eventually pivot and recover. i am not surprized nj wants to counter the new nys casino awards with meadowlands, its the best, err, parlay they can make.

[NYguy]

American Dream at the Meadowlands seems a logical place to put a casino in northern NJ. But they will need the NY casinos to happen before they get to that point. With the slow pace (if you can even call it that) of license approval, it’s almost as if NY state doesn’t want it either. I think one of the biggest mistakes Cuomo made when the casinos were approved was making New York City wait until the upstate casinos were up and running. Any business they are going to lose to city casinos, they’re going to lose anyway. Meanwhile, Hochul moved up the timeline for city casinos by a year, but the slow process has effectively erased that.

[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/202...y-for-casinos/

City Council approves zoning change to greenlight casinos
Limited-time text amendment removes one hurdle in the process


By Kathryn Brenzel
April 18, 2024

One hoop down, several left to jump through

The City Council on Thursday signed off on a zoning text amendment that will remove one hurdle for companies vying for three downstate casino licenses.

The change simply allows a gaming facility to open in manufacturing and commercial districts, something that is not currently permitted under the city’s zoning rules. The amendment is tailored to the current competition, only applying to applications filed for a casino before June 25, 2025.

The City Planning Commission and members of the City Council framed the text amendment as a way to “level the playing field” for casino contenders. It ensures that the Council can’t, on its own, kill a proposal, though it will have sway on other zoning changes needed for some bids and local members will still have a say as part of the state’s approval process.

The change saves casino proposals from going through a separate land use review process to merely exist, even if they include a hotel, which now requires a special permit. The change would also help avoid duplicative and lengthy environmental reviews at the city level before beginning the state process.

Ahead of the vote, Council member Kalman Yeger, one of 15 members who voted against the action, characterized the text amendment as a “blank check to applications that we have not reviewed.” He questioned why the council would willingly give up authority over a land use issue.

Some casino proposals already require separate city and state approvals outside the casino application process. Related Companies needs the city to approve zoning changes for its site at Hudson Yards. Steve Cohen’s Willets Point plan and Bally’s proposal in the Bronx are on parkland and require state legislative approval to remove that designation.

[mrnyc]

corona and jackson hts biz
is all in for cohen proposal —



Dozens of restaurant and small business owners urge Sen. Ramos to support the $8B Metroplitan Park proposal at Citi Field

By Bill Parry
Posted on April 18, 2024

more:
https://qns.com/2024/04/dozens-of-re...at-citi-field/

[NYguy]

https://www.northjersey.com/story/ne...l/73376386007/

A casino in the Meadowlands? The idea, once rejected by voters, is floated again


Daniel Munoz
April 18, 2024

A casino in North Jersey?

The prospect seems more likely amid the push for a new New York City casino this decade, one of three that could be built in downstate New York.

Jeff Gural, owner of the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, wants to revisit the idea for a casino in the racetrack’s backyard, with a price tag as high as $2 billion.

“I can’t imagine that people in northern New Jersey are going to be happy driving over the George Washington Bridge and paying $18 in tolls and sitting in traffic in order to get to the casino,” he told NorthJersey.com.

Gural was the main driving force behind a 2016 referendum on a North Jersey casino, in which the proposal failed by a 4-1 ratio. He announced his plans in 2015 to partner with Hard Rock International to build a $1 billion casino adjacent to the Meadowlands Racetrack grandstand.

“It was designed to fail,” Gural said of the referendum, because the proposal was written in such a way that the casino could have technically been built anywhere in North Jersey.

“People don’t really want a casino in their neighborhood,” he said.

This time, a referendum measure would make it clear that the casino would be built in the Meadowlands, far from any residential areas. But first there needs to be a nearby New York City casino to drive demand for one in North Jersey, he said.

[NYguy]

Meanwhile, the power hungry community boards are upset they won't get to spend even more time hashing and rehashing proposals for casinos. Apparently, the upcoming state's smorgasbord of approvals and community meetings isn't nearly enough. (Have we missed Gale Brewer?)

However, the comments following the article itself aren't bad.



https://w42st.com/post/city-council-...l-zoning-bill/

City Council Sidelines Community Input for Casino Developments by Passing Controversial Zoning Bill




Local councilmember Gale Brewer voted against the change — while CM Erik Bottcher joined the majority in approving the “City of Yes” amendment. Photo montage: Phil O’Brien/JJ Architecture


by Phil O'Brien
April 19, 2024

New York’s City Council gave a big win to developers and casino bosses as it passed a bill allowing zoning changes for gaming facilities approved by the State. Local councilmember Gale Brewer voted against the change — while CM Erik Bottcher joined the majority in approving the “City of Yes” for gaming facilities zoning text amendment.

The City Council voted 35 to 15 in favor of the bill yesterday afternoon. The proposal was unpopular with many of New York’s 59 community boards. In the run-up to yesterday’s council meeting, 19 community boards voted against the zoning change and 30 declined to comment. Just four community boards made submissions in favor.

The legislation allows any developer who wins one of the three available downstate casino licenses to avoid New York’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), which would have been required for all proposals to gain City approval to build their gaming facilities. Those in favor of the text amendment argued the State’s Gaming Facility Location Board review process was onerous enough and ULURP would take too long. However, the State has already pushed back the application deadline to late 2025, leaving plenty of time for review at the City level.

Many are worried that the City Council’s decision has effectively given a free pass for much more than a casino. There are concerns about the very broad ancillary uses that could be rolled into the gaming facilities, such as hotels, entertainment venues, parking garages, restaurants and retail.

Developers Related Companies and Silverstein Properties have released renderings of high-rise towers in their own casino proposals for the neighborhood, at Hudson Yards and W41st Street and 11th Avenue respectively. In Times Square, another development company, SL Green, is proposing an eight-story, 250,000-square-foot gaming facility and 950-room hotel.

With this zoning change, if the Times Square bid by SL Green, RocNation and Caesars Palace is granted a casino license by the State, then they can proceed with the building without going through the ULURP process.

The Hudson Yards bid, floated by Related and Wynn Resorts, is currently going through a ULURP process to revise the 2009 development plan to reduce the residential and increase the commercial use. If this is approved (which due to the pre-set time clock for ULURP, will be decided before the state starts its review process) there would not be any additional ULURP needed if they are granted a casino license by the State.

The zoning change means that the Silverstein proposal would not need to go through ULURP. They would be able to do it as-of-right, based on that property being in a commercial-zoned district.

"We wanna speak to the manager of the City Council!"