Saks Fifth Avenue Drops Bid for Casino at New York Flagship Store

• Retailer won’t proceed with New York City casino plan
• Group of New York City casino bidders falls to 10

Saks Fifth Avenue is reportedly dropping plans to bid for one of the yet-to-be-awarded downstate casino licenses in New York City.

A report surfaced Thursday that the retailer will abandon a proposal that called for a gaming venue to be built at its flagship store on Fifth Avenue. The retailer previously hoped to turn the ninth through eleventh floors of the Manhattan department store into a gaming venue inspired by the James Bond movie “Casino Royale” starring Daniel Craig. The store has been there for more than eight decades.

The retailer confirmed to at least one outlet that it’s withdrawing from the New York casino competition, but didn’t elaborate on why. Saks unveiled the casino plan more than two years ago, but the company never announced a gaming partner.

Other Signs Saks’ Casino Plan Was Stuck in Neutral

In addition to not announcing a gaming partner — an essential element in the downstate casino proposals — there were other signs the Saks plan wasn’t one of the leading contenders.

That would have been true on the construction front as well. Saks hoped that not needing to build a gaming venue from the ground up would have been an advantage, and while it would have been in terms of time efficiencies, simply converting a few floors at its marquee store wouldn’t have stoked construction job creation on par with the other downstate casino proposals.

Saks joins real estate developer Vornado, among others, as the big names that previously declared interest in competing for downstate casino licenses only to abandon those efforts.

Saks Casino Faced Long Odds

Not much progress has been made on awarding the three downstate casino permits in New York and more than three months into 2025, it’s possible that process drags into next year, but it’s been clear from the start that the Saks pitch faced long odds.

It’s widely believed that MG Resorts International’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York in Queens, which have been big tax generators for the state, are likely to procure two of the three licenses, implying the other bidders are essentially vying for just one permit.

Scuttlebutt indicates proposals from Caesars/SL Green, Hard Rock International/Steve Cohen, Las Vegas Sands, and Related Cos./Wynn Resorts, among others, have better odds than did the Saks pitch.