New York City, which currently has no full-scale casinos, is one step away from building three multibillion-dollar gambling complexes within 10 miles of each other.
On Monday morning, the state's Gaming Facility Location Board recommended giving casino licenses to all of the three companies vying to build them. In a statement announcing their decision, they declared that Bally's $2.3 billion casino complex in the Bronx, Hard Rock's $5.3 billion Metropolitan Park project next to Citi Field, and Resorts World's $3.3 billion renovation of the existing video casino next to JFK airport would "best serve the state's long-term economic, fiscal, and community objectives."
Immediately after the board's chair, Vicki Been, uttered those words onstage at the CUNY Graduate Center auditorium in Midtown, members of a group from Flushing opposed to Metropolitan Park began chanting "Shame on you!" and walked out of the meeting.
The final step will happen later this month, when the state's Gaming Commission will vote on the three bids.
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