Nassau County Casino Plan Close to Death

• Blakeman acknowledges casino plan unlikely to move forward
• Sands will develop Nassau Hub in other ways

The plan to bring a casino hotel to Nassau County, NY is all but dead at this point as County Executive Bruce Blakeman noted earlier today time is essentially out for the county and Las Vegas Sands to find a suitable replacement to take over the bid.

On April 23, Sands said it was withdrawing from the New York City-area casino competition, citing potential competitive threats should the state eventually legalize iGamng. The Thursday comments from Blakeman, a longtime backer of the casino idea, are his first acknowledging the reality that there isn’t enough time to find another gaming company to step in for Sands. Applications for the three downstate casino permits are due on June 27.

I think it’s very, very unlikely,” said the Nassau County executive in an interview with Newsday.

That comment was made regarding the possibility of the Nassau County casino plan moving forward. Sands previously said it was working to identify a partner with iGaming and land-based casino experience that could replace it. Talks to that effect were reportedly held, but didn’t go anywhere.

Sands Will Pursue Other Nassau County Options

Sands previously said the Long Island development wouldn’t be economically viable without a gaming component, but the operator may have changed its tune on that front — an alteration that may have been prompted by the $54 million in payments the company has made to Nassau County.

When it released the FEIS, Sands noted the cost of developing a from-the-ground-up gaming venue at Nassau Hub ballooned to $7.6 billion, or nearly double its original estimate of $4 billion. Blakeman said the company is planning to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” at the site. Completion of the FEIS paves the way for the area to be revamped with or without a casino.

Such a rebirth is possible only with the zoning changes Sands is pursuing, making approvals of those adjustments vital to the future of a site that’s gone underutilized for more than a decade. Pursuing non-gaming alternatives for Nassau Coliseum is an effective avenue for gaining community support because it’s exactly what Long Islands, many of whom opposed the casino plan, want to happen.

New York Casino Field Down to Eight

With the Long Island plan nearly officially dead, the field of contenders for the three downstate casinos licenses has been pared to eight from 11. Sands joins rival Wynn Resorts, and Saks Fifth Avenue as the recent departures from the race.

It’s possible Bally’s pursuit of a gaming license in the Bronx will be imperiled, too, unless politicians advance parkland alienation legislation that would allow that bid proceed, but it’s not clear if that will happen over the next three weeks.

Recent developments in New York could imply the stars are aligning for MGM’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York in Queens to win two of three licenses with momentum building for the $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal. That plan, backed by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International, would bring another casino to Queens.