Amid the towering skyscrapers and the relentless pulse of New York City, the dreams of expanding the gambling landscape to include three new full-fledged casino hotspots are currently teetering on the edge of a legislative abyss. The clock ticks loudly as August wanes, with less than a trio of weeks remaining, and the ambitions to accelerate the casino bidding process appear dimmer than the fading summer twilight.
The heart of the matter beats in Albany, where political winds have yet to align favorably. Despite the concerted efforts of Senator Joseph Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, their proposed legislation, aimed at nudging prospective gaming operators to the starting line by August’s end, seems hindered by the sands of bureaucracy. This dance with the calendar could have shuffled the deck, setting the stage for a mid-2025 revelation of the high-stakes winners who could pioneer the grandest casinos in the nation’s history.
Governor Kathy Hochul has not yet dealt her cards on this bet, leaving industry mavens and the observant New York political circuit to speculate that the unsaid may speak volumes. Even with a legislative green light flashing imminently, the time constraints render the preparation of beneficent proposals virtually impossible.
The tenuous fate of this expedited legislation was echoed from the quiet hallways of Albany to the bustling avenues of the Big Apple; even Pretlow conceded the unfavorable odds, while Soloviev Group’s CEO, Michael Hershman, painted a grim portrait of the bill’s relevance. Teamed with Mohegan Sun, they envision a palace of play near the diplomatic heart of Manhattan, but even their deep reserves of ambition cannot hasten the slow turn of government wheels.
The current trajectory laid by New York’s Gaming Facility Location Board delays the revealing of the royal flush until June 27, 2025, when contenders are to table their proposals. Ensuing this, the gears of community engagement and statutory obligations will turn, aiming to seal the casino fates by December 1, 2025, and to hoist the victors’ licenses by year’s end. Thus, the pre-2026 horizon leaves the concrete of new foundations still unbaked.
This sluggish dalliance with fortune not only prolongs the glitzy dreams of gaming magnets but also stints New York’s purse, which is primed to inflate by hundreds of millions – perhaps even billions – of dollars in license fees and applications.
The current pace offers a house advantage to two existing racinos — MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino and Genting’s Resorts World New York. These entities could parlay their operational momentum into a lead against nascent competitors, assuming the roulette wheel spins in their favor. Indeed, the current stalwarts might diversify their slot-centric offerings with the slip of table games and other indulgences seamlessly into the fray, continuing their bustling day-to-day affairs unfettered, awaiting the day when the neon signs can flicker on over new carpets, and the inaugural dice can tumble.
In the city that never sleeps, where the stakes are always high, and the game looms larger than life, one can’t help but wonder: What’s at stake for the future of New York’s dazzling empire of chance?
