Three New York City casinos clear final state hurdle

The New York Gaming Commission approved three casinos in New York City.

The state granted licenses Monday to Hard Rock Metropolitan Park and Resorts World in Queens and Bally's Bronx. The operators have made big bets about the revenue their licenses will generate ? and so has the state government.

The casinos could generate up to $1 billion of tax revenue annually for the state by 2036, according to the Gaming Facilities Location Board, which recommended the three casinos to the Gaming Commission. Between 2027 and 2036, the board projected the casinos will create $7 billion of revenue.

The casino operators promised vast community benefits ? over $500 million each. Bally's said it will donate $10 million a year to local schools, Resorts World has offered to help build 50,000 affordable housing units, and Metropolitan Park promised to renovate a nearby subway station. The casinos have also pledged to hire residents of their boroughs as a certain percentage of construction and long-term employees.

Additionally, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority is already banking on revenue from the tax revenue the casinos generate, with $500 million already baked into its financial plan for 2026, according to a report from the State Comptroller's office.

The commission is reportedly requiring each casino to have an independent monitor for at least five years to ensure that it follows through on the agreements. The commission could revoke the casino's licenses if they don't follow through on their promises.

Reportedly, twelve companies initially expressed interest in operating a casino in the region, but eventually all but the three finalists were rejected or bowed out.

Roger Gros, the publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine, said that casinos generally underperform their revenue projections. The four casinos that New York legalized upstate yielded only two-thirds of what they projected they'd generate in 2019.

The casinos may also cannibalize each other's revenue, especially given that two of them are within the same borough.

Resorts World said in a statement after the vote that it can open within months. The casino will be built in the already-existing "racino" next to the Aqueduct racetrack.

Metropolitan Park would take at least half a decade to build and cost $8 billion. The team behind the project claimed it will make $3.9 billion of annual revenue in its third year of operation and bring in $33.5 billion of tax revenue over 30 years.

Resorts World and Metropolitan Park both submitted comments to the commission asking for a 30-year license. The team behind Metropolitan Park claimed that "a 20-year license term would impose additional costs as well as increase the project's risk profile to outside lenders" and "the award of a 30-year license rather than a 20-year license would weigh heavily on the ultimate decision for expansions" of the project.

The commission was not persuaded. Resorts World and Bally's Bronx both received 15-year licenses and Metropolitan Park received a 20-year license.