Wynn Resorts, Related Companies Release New York Casino Proposal Details

Article ByDavid Weir

February 23, 2024

Spread the Word:

Posted in: Uncategorized

$12 billion. That’s the biggest price tag of any of the New York casino proposals detailed so far in the competitive race for three upcoming downstate casino licenses.

Developer Related Companies detailed its bid this week in a rezoning application with the Department of City Planning, showcasing just what the $12 billion potential addition to the list of New York casinos could look like.

The planned casino resort complex will sit on the West Side of Manhattan in the Hudson Yards district, located between West 30^th and West 33^rd streets.

It will transform 13 acres of land, adding three new skyscrapers, including two for hotels, and a residential development.

Nevada-based Wynn Resorts will develop one of the towers, with a 2.7 million square foot casino gambling floor planned for the bottom five floors. The rest of the tower will feature a luxury hotel with 1,750 rooms, plus a ballroom and event space.

This would make it Wynn’s second-biggest casino after Encore Boston Harbor, knocking the operator’s flagship of 2.5 million-square-foot Wynn Las Vegas into the third-largest spot.

“We are excited to continue engaging with stakeholders across the local community as part of the city land-use process for the undeveloped railyards,” said Related Companies spokesperson Jon Weinstein in a statement.

Related Developments

As well as the casino, Wynn’s partner on the project, Related Companies, is building a laundry list of other projects on the site.

That includes six public parks, two 1,000-foot plus towers, a 750-seat school, affordable and luxury housing, retail space, and a day care facility.

The two companies feel that the addition of a whole host of community benefits, other than just plain cash, will help swing the license its way in the competitive process.

Related says it will almost certainly not go ahead with any of the projects if it isn’t granted the casino license.

The field is packed with big-ticket proposals. But Related and its CEO, Jeff Blau, will have certainly made regulators pay attention with the scale of this investment.

The proposal also hasn’t seen large scale community opposition against the idea, at least at the scale of Las Vegas Sands’ plans for a Nassau County casino on Long Island or the Coney Island casino proposal.

However, some local lawmakers, such as the district’s State Representative Tony Simone (D-75), have expressed skepticism about the plans.

Nevertheless, Blau remains upbeat that this proposal is the best.

“For these reasons, we feel we’re in a good position with the best proposal. We’re looking to win,” he told the New York Post this week.

Competing Casinos

One competing casino idea is not far from Wynn and Related’s proposed site.

Local real-estate tycoon Larry Silverstein has his eyes on a 1.8 million square foot development on West 41^st and 11^th Ave. The ambitious plans include a two story skyscraper complex connected by a 46-story-high sky bridge.

Another Manhattan proposal is from Caesars Entertainment and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, who are planning a casino venue in the heart of Times Square.

Various developers have offered public facilities and infrastructure investment in the local area in hopes of swaying a license their way.

That includes a block of student housing as part of billionaire New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock’s Citi Field development, and 100 affordable housing units from Silverstein’s casino plan.

Late last year, New York city officials started the lengthy rezoning process. The New York State Gaming Commission expects to deliver its opinion this year, but said it could see license issuance delayed until early 2025.