Years from now, Olive Garden’s all-you-can-eat soups, salads and breadsticks may not be all that awaits visitors heading to New York City’s Times Square.
Developer SL Green Corporation and Caesars Entertainment (owners of casino resort brands such as Caesars Palace and Harrah’s) hope to build a casino in a skyscraper at 1515 Broadway in Times Square near West 44th Street. The New York Times reported earlier this month.
SL Green already owns the building, and the Caesars Palace Times Square proposal calls for a Broadway theater to host the “Lion King” musical to be incorporated into the development. Hotels, wellness centers and restaurants are also expected to be part of Manhattan’s casino resorts, and must obtain one of the three gaming licenses granted to the New York City area.
It’s not the only proposal to bring state-regulated slot machines and poker tables to Manhattan.
Wynn Resorts hopes to partner with developer Related Cos. to build a casino at Related Cos.’s Hudson Yards project on the western edge of Manhattan. In theory, the casino will breathe new life into the complex and is touted as the largest privately-developed real estate project in US history.
Hudson Yards opened to great fanfare in 2019, but has lost some of its luster in the onset of the pandemic.
Additionally, bids are underway for Coney Island in Brooklyn, as well as Queens, where the owners of the New York Mets are in talks with Hard Rock to develop a casino resort next to Citi Field baseball stadium.
The existing “Racino” complex — a racetrack with video slot machines and gambling but no physical dealers — Downstate is expected to be a front-runner for two of the three casino licenses in the New York City area. I’m here.
These properties, MGM Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York City in Queens, will be projects that open sooner than Wynn’s or Caesars’ tenders due to their existing gaming footprints (although Empire Both City and Resorts World get heavily invested in improving the gaming experience if they win).
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nothing is easy
Wynn and related deals are far more complex than Caesars’ proposal involving an existing skyscraper. The Wynn Casino, which will be built next to the Javits Convention Center, will have to build a 10-acre deck on top of the working track. Also, the planning and approval process is time consuming.
Of course, Caesars doesn’t necessarily have that in the bag, either. It’s not out.
The Broadway League, which represents the community of theater owners and producers, has notified its members that it will not support the casino proposal in the neighborhood.
“The addition of a casino would overwhelm an already dense area and endanger entire districts that depend on the success of Broadway,” the league said in a statement to the NYT. It is a major driving force, and it is detrimental to the city to jeopardize its stability.”
Meanwhile, the Actors’ Equity Association, a labor union that includes Broadway actors and stage directors, backed the bid, saying in its own statement, “The Times Square casino will be a game changer in improving Times Square’s security and safety.” A neighborhood with more security staff, more sanitation, and new cameras.”
However, having a Broadway theater right at your casino’s front door might not be such a great deal from a financial point of view.
Alan Woinski, CEO of Gaming USA Corporation, a casino consulting and publishing company, told TPG earlier this year that casinos in big cities usually don’t do well. Entertainment costs are too competitive.
Casinos in urban markets such as Detroit and Cleveland have failed to meet their pre-opening financial expectations. Additionally, games at Horseshoe He casino in downtown Baltimore make less money than at suburban Maryland casinos.
“We looked at the big city casinos and they were all underperforming,” said Wojnski. “I don’t understand why these companies keep doing this over and over. Harrah’s New Orleans has gone bankrupt twice. And second, gamblers don’t want to have problems getting in and out of casinos.”
Enough space to move around
Analysts have been concerned about the cannibalization effects of gaming revenues on the East Coast only recently, as more states legalize gambling to prevent residents from spending money in casinos across state lines. It’s because
However, the pandemic caused a surge in domestic leisure travel, a big win for the casinos. According to the American Gaming Association, reported U.S. gaming revenue of $14.31 billion in his first three months of the year is off to an all-time high reported start.
By the time any one of these casino bids in New York State gets an official green light, the financial windfall could clearly change, but such data suggests that the states participating in the casino resorts’ It certainly inspires motivation.
A final decision on who gets the coveted casino license is not expected until next year at the earliest.
