New York City inspired by the “Las Vegas style”

New York City meets Las Vegas. A dream for gambling enthusiasts, a lucrative business for Resort World New York City (RWNYC), the entrepreneurial group active in the gambling industry that claims to be the primary contributor to the state of New York, and an opportunity for Queens, according to the famous rapper Nas, who has described RWNYC’s development plan as a means to “give new opportunities to the hard-working families who call Queens home, attract top-tier talent, and build up the next generation of leaders.”

The plan being discussed is the construction of a massive resort dedicated to gambling, inspired entirely by the “Las Vegas-style“, featuring a casino spread over 350,000 square feet, 1,600 hotel rooms, and a 7,000-seat event hall. All of this in Queens, where RWNYC is prepared to invest $5 billion as soon as the New York State Gaming Commission approves the operation, granting the necessary licenses. According to the investors, this is a systemic operation that should ensure the creation of 5,000 new jobs just during the construction phase and 100,000 stable positions once the mega-resort is operational. If approved, the project will birth the largest casino in the world in Queens, confirming how the city that never sleeps, as sung by Frank Sinatra, is increasingly responsive to the allure of gambling and the lucrative business surrounding it.

RWNYC’s dream of transforming Queens into the temple of gaming and entertainment is just the latest in the multibillion-dollar projects moving forward in recent weeks, with major entertainment players targeting the Big Apple. At the end of 2022, Ceasars Entertainment and SL Green Realty, leaders in the sector and owners – among others – of the Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas, presented a project to build a casino in Times Square. Wynn Resorts – another major operator in the industry – announced its intention to build one in the Hudson Yards complex, while the Soloviev Group, a real estate giant based in New York City, aims to build one near the United Nations headquarters.

Behind the passion for gambling lies, of course, the interest in the business, which – in addition to the revenue from the operational activities of the casinos – also involves their construction and the subsequent urban redevelopment, which due to the nature of New York, has always been one of the sectors attracting the largest amount of investment. In addition to the traditional interest of real estate operators, linked to the construction of new skyscrapers, gaming is the new business for builders in the Big Apple, and it is linked to the deep process of modernization of urban infrastructure, from subways to trains, to road networks, and to the bus system, which is rewriting the city’s mobility in a modern context.

Urban redevelopment projects add fuel to the engine driving the unstoppable growth of New York City. A growth primarily fueled by the development of the city’s comprehensive infrastructure network. To pursue this goal, the city and the state of New York aim to continue on the path of investments. According to official data released on the city administration’s website in 2023, $13.3 billion was spent on city infrastructure, which will increase to $15 billion in 2025 and $13.8 billion in 2027. Supported by the state and federal funds, the administration focuses on developing the infrastructure network with flagship projects that will profoundly change the city’s mobility. Among these is the completion of the Gateway Program, the railway line connecting Newark with New Jersey and reaching to Manhattan’s Penn Station, which, once completed, will serve 17% of the US population, generating wealth worth $3 trillion annually.

The Gateway Program is accompanied by other rail mobility projects, such as the extension of the Second Avenue Subway or the Interborough Express, the $9.9 billion line that should connect Brooklyn with Queens and perhaps, who knows, in a few years, provide a service to New Yorkers who want to reach the new casino and try their luck.