Posted on: October 31, 2023, 05:11h.
Final up to date on: October 31, 2023, 08:16h.
Vornado Realty Belief (NYSE: VNO), one of many largest actual property funding trusts (REITs), will not be doubtless to present chase to a New York Metropolis on line casino license.
Chairman and CEO Steve Roth commented on that impact earlier as we speak on the REIT’s third-quarter earnings convention name. His remarks arrived about 10 months after reviews surfaced that Vornado could possibly be mulling a website close to Madison Sq. Backyard and Penn Station as a possible dwelling for a on line casino resort.
It’s extremely doubtless that we are going to not pursue the on line casino license,” stated Roth in response to a query from Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa.
Vornado, already one of many largest industrial actual property homeowners within the metropolis, may consider the positioning presently occupied by the Lodge Pennsylvania as a possible spot for a on line casino resort. That resort was just lately demolished as a part of an enormous redevelopment plan for the Penn Station space. The REIT will doubtless focus its efforts on leasing out that house for different industrial functions.
Vornado First Massive Title to Depart New York On line casino Race
Up to now, Vornado is the primary of the massive names that beforehand declared an curiosity in bidding for a New York Metropolis-area on line casino allow to bow out of that competitors — one which’s ultra-competitive and shaping as much as be expensive and time-consuming.
Roth didn’t clarify why Vornado is probably going falling by the wayside on a New York on line casino bid, however the present macroeconomic atmosphere isn’t conducive to massive, from-the-ground-up industrial actual property initiatives. Excessive-interest charges have loads of industrial actual property debtors and collectors balking on the thought of recent initiatives.
Moreover, Vornado hadn’t declared a companion for the hassle, although rumors beforehand recommended the REIT may crew up with billionaire financier Neil Gary Bluhm. Bluhm is a companion in Midwest Gaming & Leisure. He cofounded Illinois-based Rush Road Gaming, which operates a pair of casinos within the Chicago suburbs, in addition to in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Different New York REITs stay engaged within the on line casino competitors. For instance, SL Inexperienced is working with Caesars Leisure on a Occasions Sq. gaming bid, whereas Associated Cos. is teaming up with Wynn Resorts to convey a on line casino resort to a different a part of Manhattan.
New York On line casino Competitors Nonetheless Lengthy Approach from Settled
Whereas Vornado is probably going out of the downstate on line casino competitors, the race for the three licenses is way from settled. Some analysts imagine that New York regulators gained’t resolve on the profitable bidders till 2025, dousing hopes that such an announcement would arrive in 2024.
Additional heightening intrigue within the fourth-largest state is concept that as a result of a scandal and federal investigation involving a former govt, MGM Resorts Worldwide and Resorts World — operators of two slots-only venues within the New York Metropolis space — are not shoe-ins to win two of the three licenses.
Latest chatter suggests Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts are among the many main contenders for New York on line casino permits.