After more than two years of battling and millions spent on lobbying, the fourth and final casino project advanced on Tuesday in the high-stakes bid to open a gambling house in the New York City area.
The casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Metropolitan Park in Queens, won unanimous approval in a crucial vote from a local committee to remain in contention for one of three casino licenses that New York State can award by the end of the year.
It joins three other bids — Resorts World in Queens, MGM Resorts in Yonkers, and Bally’s Bronx — that advanced from an initial group of eight proposals. All four will be considered in December, first by the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board and then by its Gaming Commission.
The Hard Rock project was put forward by Steven A. Cohen, the billionaire owner of the New York Mets. He wants to build a $6.4 billion casino and resort on parking lots next to the team’s stadium, Citi Field, in the Willets Point neighborhood.
“While the Mets may not make the playoffs, we can consider this a home run for Citi Field and for Queens,” said Donovan J. Richards Jr., a member of the community advisory committee who is also the Queens borough president.
All six members of the committee voted in favor despite some local resistance and opposition from State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Democrat of Queens who represents the area and who announced her disapproval of the project more than a year ago. Yet, her representative on the committee, George Dixon, voted “yes” on Tuesday without explaining his decision.
Four other proposed casinos were rejected earlier this month by their local advisory committees, including three in Manhattan. The decisions by the committees take into account local support for the developments, and opposition was most intense for the Manhattan projects.
The rejected proposals were Caesars Palace Times Square, the Avenir on Manhattan’s Far West Side, Freedom Plaza near the headquarters of the United Nations, and the Coney in Brooklyn. Several groups had proposed casinos but did not submit bids, including one atop Saks Fifth Avenue and another in Hudson Yards.
Two bids still in contention have been considered front-runners for licenses — Resorts World and Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts — because they exist already as casino-like properties, with video lottery terminals but not table games.
Matthew Haag is a Times reporter covering the New York City economy and the intersection of real estate and politics in the region.
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