Resorts World New York City presents project to Community Advisory Committee
The company aims to gain one of up to three casino licences to be issued by the New York state.
US.- Resorts World New York City (RWNYC) has presented its $5.5bn expansion plan to the state’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The proposal forms part of its bid for one of up to three casino licences to be issued by the state.
The operator says its plans for its site in Queens represent the largest of all the New York casino proposals in terms of site size, build-area and casino-floor area. It proposes a 5.6 million-square-foot integrated resort with 6,000 slot machines, 800 gaming tables, 2,000 hotel rooms, a 7,000-seat arena, more than 7,000 parking spaces, more than 30 food and beverage outlets, a spa and more than a dozen acres of community greenspace.
The company said the project could be open as early as July 2026. According to the operator, it would create up to 24,000 jobs.
During the presentation to the CAC, Resorts World chief legal and strategy officer Kevin Jones stated: “When it comes to completion and operational risk, Resorts World New York City stands uniquely as almost risk-free.”
Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said: “We’re proud to have grown with the Queens community for nearly 15 years. What the Community Advisory Committee heard today was a vision for a transformative project that will be a game-changer for this borough, the city, and the state.
“Since Resorts World was granted operations of the Aqueduct site in 2010, we have sought to be a neighbor that Queens deserves, providing 1,000 good union jobs, invested millions of dollars into our neighbors, and built everlasting bonds with the community. But we also made them a promise to do more in every sense of the term, and today’s proposal lays out just how we will.”
RWNYC says it has generated more than $4.5bn in revenue supporting the state’s public education fund since opening its doors in 2011. In January, it opened its Experience Center, a pavilion designed to showcase the expansion project with 3D models and video walls.
Earlier in July, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) chair O’Dwyer announced that the regulator had received eight applications for up to three casino licences in the state. He said the Commission and the Gaming Facility Location Board would ensure the biding process is fair, transparent, competitive, deliberative, and beneficial for the state. The board will select the winning projects by December 1.
O’Dwyer noted that each project must obtain local entitlements, including zoning approval, and must be approved by a Community Advisory Committee comprising appointees of elected officials representing the proposed facility’s location. Only the projects that meet both statutory requirements by September 30 will be considered by the Gaming Facility Location Board.
