This week’s casino news puts the state of New York in the spotlight. With the Big Apple now welcoming sports betting, all sorts of changes are coming to the city. Let’s take a look at the latest:
Hard Rock Aims In On Three Locations For New York City Casino
With an upcoming casino scheduled to be coming to New York City, people have been waiting patiently for the announcement of the location. Hard Rock International is one of the major players that’s looking to build and they have announced that they are currently looking deeper into three specific sites for this new integrated resort.
No specific locations were identified just yet but their chairman, Jim Allen, has said that they aren’t looking to go on 48th Street. That is going to be where the Hotel Hard Rock is expected to debut in April. We haven’t been able to find other details as to where they might build.
“We’re extremely proud of our hotel on 48th Street, but its footprint is just not large enough for gaming. As far as other locations, really we’re waiting on the governor and the committee that’s going to be sending out the request for proposals to see what language is in the bill as to geographic locations that would be acceptable to the state.” – Jim Allen
Hard Rock chairperson Jim Allen says, “We’re extremely proud of our hotel on 48th Street, but its footprint is just not large enough for gaming. As far as other locations, really we’re waiting on the governor and the committee that’s going to be sending out the request for proposals to see what language is in the bill as to geographic locations that would be acceptable to the state.”
Hard Rock made the commitment that they would be willing to spend $2 billion to create a shiny, new casino in the state if they were to be the winning bidder. However, there is going to be intense competition from other companies to earn that right while they all hunt for a license to operate in the state. Luckily, Hard Rock has enough financial resources to operate on big stages.
They recently announced that they bought the rights to operate the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip back in December of 2021.
Yankee Stadium May Have On-Site Sports Betting Soon
It took a while for sports betting to come to New York City but now we could be seeing some major innovations in the coming months. One of those changes could come to Yankee
Stadium, the home of the famous Major League Baseball franchise. It has been reported that the stadium may see sports betting kiosks placed inside the property if the ongoing gaming legislation is able to officially pass through.
The legislation would eventually allow for licensed sportsbooks to create partnerships with professional sports stadiums and then customers would be able to place wagers on the property.
Most stadiums around the country have been getting considered as sports betting sites. That includes places like in Washington where customers will soon be able to bet on sports at Capitals games and in Chicago where Cubs fans might be able to wager too.
New York’s stadiums are the most attended venues in the United States. According to 2019 numbers, over 3.3 million fans had entered Yankee Stadium.
The New York Mets saw 2.4 million fans come into Citi Field. Back then, the New York Knicks welcomed 779,000 fans. That’s why the foot traffic is quite significant and could lead to big betting gains for the books.
Foxwoods Casino Announces Huge Expansion Plan
The Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut just announced huge plans for the future. The property just turned 30 years old recently and they are going all out for the celebration. The company is expected to unveil a brand-new, high-stakes bingo hall sometime in the Spring and then they’ll also be opening a new 75,000-square foot area that will be named the Rainmaker Expo Center. Finally, they will be completely renovating the main entrance to the resort.
On top of all that, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation just came to an agreement with Great Wolf resorts to create an indoor water park in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The estimated opening for that project is currently set at 2024.
The Foxwoods expansion is coming right after the property was able to welcome a DraftKings sportsbook at their casino. The state itself also just recently legalized online gambling back in 2021, including sports wagering. Foxwoods could potentially be a top earner if all of their renovations continue to go through.
