New York has three remaining casino licenses to be awarded in the downstate region that includes New York City, which has long been the holy grail for the casino industry, given the region’s population and wealth.
Speaking at the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City this week, Allen said Hard Rock - the global gambling, entertainment and hospitality company owned by Florida’s Seminole Indian tribe - has been planning a New York project ever since the possibility was announced seven years ago.
Afterward, Allen said in an interview that the company is not abandoning a plan it unveiled in 2015 to build a casino resort at the Meadowlands Racetrack just outside New York City.
“We’re interested in both markets, and if God is good enough to allow us to operate in both, we would be happy to do so,” he said.
Hard Rock would need permission from New Jersey voters to build in the Meadowlands. They resoundingly rejected a plan in 2016 that would have authorized casinos outside Atlantic City, the only place in New Jersey they are permitted.
Allen, whose company spent a half-billion dollars to open a Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City in 2018, said the New York and northern New Jersey market can support numerous casinos.
“How many casinos do you have lined up right here?” he asked in Atlantic City, where there are nine. “One hundred percent, the market is large enough.”
Last week, the New York State Gaming Commission issued a call for expressions of interest in the three remaining casino licenses. Other major casino companies, including Caesars Entertainment, Bally’s, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, also have expressed interest.
There are four commercial casinos in upstate New York, part of the seven nontribal casinos that voters authorized in 2013.
Source: AP
