New York’s three full casino licensees could generate annual gaming revenues of up to $5.6 billion, according to a new report.
In December, the New York State Gaming Commission gave final approval to the three new licenses. After a competitive application process, Bally’s Bronx, Hard Rock Metropolitan Park in Queens, and Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack were awarded the coveted licenses.
And all three venues could be huge money-spinners, according to analysis from CBRE Institutional Research. The projects are all expected to be completed by 2031.
In the first year, when they are fully operational, the base-case GGR estimate is $4.7 billion. This would make it the second-largest gaming market in the US, behind only Las Vegas.
“The Downstate New York market is significantly under-penetrated, and there is a strong case for each of the three projects to be among the highest revenue-generating casinos across regional gaming,” CBRE said.
Huge Gaming Floors to Attract New York Gamblers
New York already leads the way for sports betting, with its handle reaching $26.3 billion in 2025. There is a huge appetite for betting in the state, and the new casinos will feature plenty of opportunities for New Yorkers to gamble.
“The proposed gaming floors are massive with some of the largest table footprints, if not the largest, seen in regional gaming with over 200, 400, and 500 planned at Bally’s Bronx, [Hard Rock] and RWNYC, respectively,” CBRE explained.
Resorts World NYC is expected to become the largest casino in the US, featuring 6,000 slot machines and 800 tables when it is fully completed.
The company expects to open the first phase of the full-scale casino later this year, with up to 4,000 slot machines and 250 table games.
“RWNYC should also benefit from having existing casino infrastructure in place and an already established customer base, as the proposed project is an expansion of the existing facility rather than a ground-up development,” CBRA stated in its report.
Other New Venues Set for 2030 Openings
The other two venues will be built from scratch. Hard Rock Metropolitan Park will feature approximately 5,000 slot machines and 375 table games, including 30 poker tables. The developers anticipate commencing construction this year, with a target opening date around 2030.
Bally’s Bronx is also slated to fully open in 2030, featuring approximately 3,500 slot machines, 210–250 table games, and 40 poker tables.
All three casinos are in prime locations to attract visitors. CBRE noted, “Each location benefits from a high volume of passerby traffic, non-gaming-specific reasons to visit, and a large population base within a reasonable drive-to and/or train-to radius.”
Gaming Expected to Dominate Revenue
Analysts say the bull case will see total annual revenue of $7.8 billion, with over 70% of this expected to come from gaming.
“This contrasts with Las Vegas, where gaming accounts for less than one-third of Strip property revenue. We do not expect Downstate New York to resemble the Vegas model – these will remain gaming-dominated properties, especially given the higher margins associated with gaming versus hotel or ancillary spending,” said CBRE.
New York would not expect to see the same dwindling visitor numbers as Vegas has. Over 65 million visited the Big Apple last year. Resorts World will have the biggest hotel capacity with around 2,000 rooms, followed by Metropolitan Park with 1,000, and Bally’s Bronx with just over 500.
Analysts Colin Mansfield and Connor Parks said the hotels are unlikely to compete with New York City’s already substantial cash-paying customer base and will instead be largely reserved to drive gaming demand, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming.
