The field is quickly thinning in the race for New York’s three downstate casino licenses. The proposed Freedom Plaza casino near the United Nations is the latest to be rejected.
A community advisory committee nixed the Mohegan Tribe’s proposed casino by a 4-2 vote this week.
As a result, there won’t be a casino in the borough of Manhattan. Committees voted down a Caesars-owned Times Square casino and a Silverstein Properties’ pitch for a casino in Hell’s Kitchen last week.
Mohegan’s Freedom Plaza bid called for two hotels, a casino, 500 affordable housing units, a 4.7-acre park, a museum, and more.
Only A Few Bidders Remain
With the Manhattan plans off the table, just five bids remain in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Yonkers, and two in Queens.
Bally’s wants to build a property at Ferry Point in the Bronx and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen wants a casino outside Citi Field. On the other hand, MGM and Resorts World want to turn their racinos in Yonkers and Queens into full-fledged gaming facilities.
Lastly, a proposed casino at Coney Island in Brooklyn is still remaining. However, the project also appears to be in jeopardy. The Brooklyn Beach area casino project already faced significant opposition. A key member of the state community advisory council said the project would create “traffic hell” for the area.
Additionally, Brooklyn Magazine reported this week that enough committee members have publicly opposed the project to make the group’s formal meeting on the issue a moot point. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso was the latest to oppose the casino.
Bleak Future For Brooklyn Casino
“There are things we need in Coney Island, but a casino isn’t one of them,” he wrote in a column for Brooklyn Paper. “And, let’s be real: casinos exist to make money, not to fix our aging infrastructure or lift families out of poverty.”
The Coney Island proposal included a 500-room hotel, 70,000 square feet of retail space, a dozen restaurants, 92,000 square feet of convention space, a 2,500-seat concert venue, and more than an acre of space open to the public.
The Chickasaw Nation, Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, and a joint venture between the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys back the project. But the recent news makes the future of the venue appear bleak.
Most gambling experts expect the two exiting racinos in Yonkers and Queens to receive a license. Thus, the final three properties battling for the final spot.
New York gaming regulators initially said they would award the licenses by Dec. 1. But they moved that back to a January 2026 decision.
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