The two biggest casino builders in Queens are going head-to-head in an exciting race for one of New York’s valuable city casino approvals.
The competition has brought out two leading spheres – Resorts World New York City with a $5 billion increase in the works, and Metropolitan Park, an $8 billion vision championed by Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International. Both teams have just opened their doors to the public, showing off impressive displays of what they hope to build.
Resorts World has adopted an active role in South Queens by transforming a section of its Ozone Park venue into an interactive experience center. You can walk through detailed models and watch video presentations showing their plans for a complete entertainment destination.
The project includes a full-scale casino, a stadium for live music, meeting spaces, and several luxury hotels. The company is making the most of its location near JFK Airport, pointing out how easy it would be for tourists to visit.
Over at Citi Field, Metropolitan Park has taken a different approach – creating 360 room where people can step inside virtual versions of their planned buildings.
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Also, both teams have their eyes on a bigger prize: making Queens a leading entertainment destination that can even compete with Manhattan. Resorts World wants to add 3,000 new homes for workers and connect to the train system, though they’ll need extra approval to build on Aqueduct Racetrack property.
At thre same time, Metropolitan Park is focusing on community benefits, planning to add 25 acres of parks, fix up the subway station, and build new places for sports and recreation.
Local politicians have started picking sides – Resorts World has won over State Senator Joe Addabbo, Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
Metropolitan Park has gathered support from City Councilmember Francisco Moya, and Queens Chamber of Commerce, along with some other advocacy groups.
But both projects face some tough challenges – and they need to convince a local community advisory committee, where two-thirds of the members must vote yes for the projects to move forward.
Metropolitan Park has extra hurdles to jump – their chosen spot in the Citi Field parking lot is technically parkland owned by the city, so they need special permission from both state and city officials to build there. Some groups and State Senator Jessica Ramos have already voiced concerns about the project.
Resorts World isn’t starting from scratch – they opened their current facility over ten years ago. Back then, they had to work hard to address local worries about increased felony and betting problems in the neighborhood. They’ve since become an established part of the community, though some concerns remain.
These ambitious Queens goals aren’t alone in the race, as they’re up against more than a dozen other projects hoping to win one of the three casino licenses up for grabs in the New York City area.
Other developers have big plans for places like Times Square, Coney Island, Hudson Yards, and Yonkers. Everyone has until June 2025 to submit their final applications, and the state will pick the winners by the end of that year.
But both of them promise their projects will keep tourist dollars in Queens instead of watching them flow to Manhattan, setting up an interesting battle that could change the borough’s future.
