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A few years from now, Olive Garden’s unlimited soups, salads and breadsticks may not be the only jackpot waiting for visitors to New York City’s Times Square.
Developers SL Green Corporation and Caesars Entertainment — owner of casino resort brands such as Caesars Palace and Harrah’s — want to build a casino in a skyscraper near West 44th Street at 1515 Broadway in Times Square. New York Times reports Earlier this month.
SL Green already owns the building, and the Times Square proposal at Caesars Palace calls for a Broadway theater, which hosts the “Lion King” musical, to be included in the development. A hotel, wellness center and restaurant is also expected to become part of the Manhattan casino resort if it receives one of three gaming licenses issued for the New York City area.
The proposal isn’t the only one trying to bring state-regulated slot machines and poker tables to Manhattan.
Wynn Resorts has partnered with a developer-related company to build a casino in the Hudson Yards project in a related development on Manhattan’s western fringe. In theory, the casino will breathe new life into the complex, billed as the largest privately developed real estate project in U.S. history.
Hudson Yards opens to great fanfare 2019, but lost some of its luster as the pandemic hit, cooling office demand and the closure of the much-hyped Neiman Marcus department store.
In addition, bids are underway for Brooklyn’s Coney Island and Queens, and the New York Mets owner is in talks with Hard Rock to develop a casino resort next to Citi Field.
Existing “racino” complexes — horse farms with video slot machines and gambling but no actual dealers — are expected to be frontrunners for two of the three casino licenses in the New York City area.
those properties, Empire City Casino at MGM Resorts Yonkers in Queens and Resorts World New York City will open projects faster than Wynn or Caesars bids due to their existing gaming footprints (though both Empire City and Resorts World will receive significant investment to enhance the gaming experience should they Won).
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nothing is easy
The Wynn/Related deal was far more complex than Caesars’ proposal, which involved an existing skyscraper. The proposed Wynn Casino would be adjacent to the Javits Convention Center and would require construction of a 10-acre podium on an active train line. There will also be a lengthy planning and approval process.
Of course, Caesars wouldn’t necessarily put it in the bag either. Just because the proposal would include the home of the “Lion King” musical doesn’t mean Broadway is laying a welcome mat for casinos near Great White Road.
The Broadway Alliance, which represents the theater owner and producer community, notified members that it would not support the nearby casino proposal.
“Adding casinos would overwhelm an already overcrowded area and endanger entire communities whose very existence depends on the success of Broadway,” the league said in a statement to The New York Times. “Broadway is a major driver of tourism, Risking its stability would be bad for the city.”
On the other hand, the Actors’ Rights Association, a union that includes Broadway actors and stage managers, supported the bid, saying in its own statement: “The Times Square Casino will be a game-changer, improving security and safety in Times Square. There are more nearby. security staff, more sanitary equipment and new cameras.”
From a financial standpoint, however, having a Broadway theater on the front door of a casino may not be as good as it sounds.
Alan Woinski, CEO of Gaming USA Corporation, a casino consulting and publishing company told TPG earlier this year Casinos in big cities usually underperform. The competition for entertainment consumption is too intense.
casinos in city markets such as Detroit and Cleveland lives up to Financial expectations before the market opens.In addition, the gaming revenue of the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Baltimore bring in less revenue More suburban casinos than Maryland.
“You look at the casinos in the big cities, and they’re all underperforming,” Woinski said. “I don’t know why these companies do this over and over again. Harrah’s New Orleans went bankrupt twice. They just didn’t do it well. Number one, there’s too much competition for entertainment revenue. Having trouble getting in and out of the casino.”
enough space to move around
Not long ago, analysts worried about a cannibalization effect on East Coast gaming revenue, as more states legalized gambling to prevent residents from crossing state lines to spend at casinos.
But the pandemic has sparked a surge in domestic leisure travel — a major win for casinos. U.S. gaming revenue of $14.31 billion was reported in the first three months of the year, the strongest start to any year in the report’s history, according to the American Gaming Association.
The financial windfall will obviously change when these casino bids in New York state are officially approved, but data like this will no doubt inspire the state to get involved in the casino resort action.
A final decision on who wins the coveted casino license is not expected until next year at the earliest.
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