Genting Resorts World Queens, New York Expansion Will Run $400M

Posted on: July 7, 2016, 12:41h. 

Last updated on: July 7, 2016, 02:13h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

Genting Group’s Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York is expanding. The first and only casino in one of the Big Apple’s five boroughs, the property is part of ?the Aqueduct Racetrack. Genting recently announced plans to build a 400-room hotel and accompanying spa, additional restaurants, and 140,000 square feet of convention and meeting space on the property.

But before construction can commence, Resorts World will need approval from the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) and the state’s Franchise Oversight Board (FOB). The?expected cost?of the new project is?between $300-$500 million.

The casino presented its expansion plans to the FOB on June 27, and said the early blueprint is coming in with a $400 million-ish price tag.

In late December, the NYSGC approved three licenses of a possible seven for upper New York State casinos to be built. Genting may be forestalling the spector of sexier competition once these new gaming properties open. But in selling the project to New York State, money always plays best.

“This new expansion, and its corresponding increase in visitation to our facility, will result in a boost in revenue for both New York’s education fund and the state’s horse-racing industry,” Genting Group Senior VP of Public Affairs Michael Levoff said.

Spend Money to Make Money

Nearby Nassau Off-Track Betting Corp., one of five separately governed New York OTBs, had planned to install 1,000 video-lottery terminals (VTLs) at one of its facilities. But that plot never came to fruition, as Nassau OTB continues to struggle financially.

Local lawmakers decided to allow Resorts World to purchase and house those machines instead. In exchange, tax revenues from the 1,000 gaming terminals will be distributed to Nassau County and the horse racing industry.

“One of the advantages that was afforded by this ability to host Nassau games was to avoid destructive competition within the same market and gave us the opportunity to invest in our facility,” Resorts World New York President Ryan Eller told the Franchise Board.

Convention Destination?

Anyone who’s ever had the dubious pleasure of rushing from Manhattan out to JFK International airport to make a flight knows that Queens isn’t the most sought-after vacation destination.

Located just minutes from JFK, Resorts World has long targeted stranded travelers at the country’s fifth-busiest airport. But now the casino is trying to adhere closer to its “Resorts” name and become a true retreat from the real world.

It’s likely a smart strategy, as New Jersey voters will decide this fall whether to allow two casinos to be built in northern counties of the Garden State. If the referendum passes, the minimum capital investment for each site will be $1 billion.

That means the North Jersey venues won’t be regional casinos like those in Pennsylvania and parts of Maryland. Instead, they will more closely resemble the planned Wynn Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield spectacles: i.e., part of established and recognized Las Vegas and global brands.

Arming Resorts World with convention space could attract more domestic and international companies with offices in Manhattan to shlep out to Jamaica, Queens. With easy access through JFK, at least in theory, meeting in Queens could make sense.

It would also bring a new demographic of customer to Resorts World. That is vital to assuring state and local regulators that the additional gaming machines won’t dilute revenues per terminal.