Genting New York LLC is one of three sets of investors that have been recommended to receive a downstate New York casino licence in the United States.
That is according to a Monday announcement by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which voted 5-0 in favour of the three finalists that remained in the race. The ultimate decision is for the New York State Gaming Commission, and is expected before year-end.
Last month, Genting New York’s parent, Genting Malaysia Bhd, affirmed that the Resorts World New York City (RWNYC) complex in the borough of Queens – currently offering electronic gaming – could become a fully-fledged casino and “begin operations as early as March 2026”.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said in a Tuesday note regarding the impact at Genting Malaysia: “Net profit generated by its [the property’s] expansion should peak at MYR1.93 billion [US$467.2 million] in 2030 and augment MYR0.47 per share to our sum-of-the-parts target price.”
Maybank’s analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang noted that remaining hurdles for the Genting group included the commission doing background and character reviews on key owners, and other company representatives; and reviewing internal controls, anti-money laundering compliance, operational integrity, and responsible gaming programmes.
“Genting Malaysia must then pay the New York State Gaming Commission the US$600-million licence fee to secure the licence by 31 December 2025,” he added.
“Recall that Resorts World New York City plans to open a new permanent casino featuring 4,000 slot machines and 250 table games by June 2026,” Mr Yin noted.
He also observed: “An additional 150 tables is expected to be added by January 2027 in existing space, bringing the total number of table games to 400. The final casino should allow for 6,000 slots and 800 tables by January 2029.”
Through an affiliated company, Empire Resorts Inc, the Genting group also has casino business interests in upstate New York. Genting Malaysia also has a casino monopoly in Malaysia, and runs venues in the Bahamas, the United Kingdom and Egypt.
The firm reported last month a third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders down 79.0 percent year-on-year.
Genting Malaysia’s ultimate parent, Genting Bhd, has been working toward taking private the currently Bursa Malaysia-listed casino firm.
Hard Rock and Bally’s
The other two projects recommended on Monday for downstate New York casino licensing were: Hard Rock Metropolitan Park, with plans for a gaming complex near Citi Field in Flushing, also Queens; and Bally’s Bronx, under Bally’s Corp, one of the companies helping to rescue Australian casino firm The Star Entertainment Group Ltd.
Bally’s wants to open a casino by mid-2030 – via a total capital investment of US$2.3 billion – on a former golf course at Ferry Point, in the Bronx. According to local media reports, the latter deal would net the Trump Organization – founded by the family of U.S. president, Donald Trump – a total of US$115 million.
Hard Rock Metropolitan proposes a single-phase casino resort and entertainment district in Queens, with a total capital investment of US$5.3 billion and a projected opening in June 2030.
The location board said in its 30-page statement: “After a comprehensive review, the board determined that awarding three licences would best serve the state’s long-term economic, fiscal, and community objectives.”
It also said the board’s consultants project that the total downstate casino market – comprised of those three casinos – could reach approximately US$5.5 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2033, the “projected market stabilisation year”.
The board further noted: “Assuming licensing at each applicants’ proposed tax rates and stability in the existing gaming facility landscape, incremental gaming tax revenue is projected to reach approximately US$1 billion annually by 2036, totalling approximately US$7 billion in incremental tax revenue from 2027 to 2036, plus US$1.5 billion in licensing fees.”
In its application, Resorts World New York City offered to pay US$600 million for the casino licence fee, i.e., US$100 million more than the minimum, and a tax rate of 56 percent for slots and 30 percent for table games.
The location board noted in its Monday announcement that RWNYC subsequently suggested that “if other downstate licensees open with lower tax rates on slots or tables, RWNYC’s tax rate should also be lowered”.
But the board stated that its recommendation that RWNYC be considered by the New York State Gaming Commission for a licence “is based upon the tax rates it bid, not on the lower rates it now would like to apply”.
