Operator News
Las Vegas Sands ‘disappointed’ over delays to New York casino-licensing
By Phil - 24 April 2024
Rob Goldstein, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, has said he’s disappointed in the delay in the casino-licensing process in New York.
“We’re very disappointed by New York,” Mr. Goldstein said. “We’ve been working there for a long time and we thought it would happen in 2024. Now, they’re saying 2025 or 2026. We don’t have any clarity and to be honest, it’s confusing and disappointing. We’ve put a lot of time and work into New York, but I have no guidance. We wish they’d figure it out and let us know. We’ll remain hopeful that things turn around there.”
In March, the New York Gaming Commission said the winners of the tender for the three downstate, land-based casinos in New York wouldn’t be announced until the end of next year.
It confirmed that the lengthy approval process and environmental considerations for the three licences which have attracted submissions from MGM Resorts , Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment as well as the two current racino operators won’t be concluded until late 2025.
Commission Executive Director Robert Williams warned that moving forwards with the licencing tender before the reviews had been done would be an ‘administrative nightmare.’
“The encumbering of money well in advance of a licensing determination could increase the costs of access to capital markets, which could reduce the proposal’s size and scope,” he said.
Las Vegas Sands has seen opposition from Hofstra University to its proposal to develop a multi-billion resort and casino around the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, on Long Island. In March, a state Supreme Court judge said Sands lacks a valid lease for the Coliseum and surrounding land and that Nassau County must begin the process again and conduct an environmental review.
Sands is hoping to build the third biggest casino in the US if it wins approval to develop a 72-acre site into the Mitchel Field Integrated Resort District around Nassau Coliseum.
The proposed square footage for the Sands New York casino has been detailed as 396,726, meaning it would only be smaller than WinStar World Casino & Resort in Oklahoma and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
The size of the front print was revealed in a zoning application filed in the Town of Hempstead, Sands wants to develop over 3.7m square feet for the resort above ground, along with another 3.9m square feet for parking and garages and more than 765,000 square feet of underground space.
