Some Downstate Casino Bid Proposals See Changes as License Submission Deadline Nears
Among the bidders continuing to move forward with their proposals in the hopes of winning one of the three new casino licenses for downstate New York, Soloviev and Silverstein Properties recently announced changes related to their proposals. The team of Soloviev and Mohegan added the offering of equity access to New York City residents as part of their Freedom Plaza proposal for the vacant seven-acre site on First Avenue between East 38th and 41st Streets, while Silverstein Properties has added a second gaming partner to the team on the Avenir proposal. According to announced details of Soloviev’s offering, “up to 12 percent of any initial public equity raised for the development will be earmarked for residents of the city, allowing those eligible to share in the financial returns of the casino. Soloviev and its partner, Mohegan, will also provide investment allocations to state and city employee-related pension funds on a preferential basis. A capital raise wouldn’t begin before 2027 and is contingent on Soloviev securing a gaming license.” The announcement by Silverstein Properties delivered news of Rush Street Gaming joining the Avenir team that along with Silverstein includes Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, bringing “significant national destination casino development and operations experience” to the project according to reported statements by the developer. One advantage that separates Silverstein’s proposal from some of the other casino bids is that the 92,000 square feet of undeveloped land located just north of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center at 41st Street and 11th Avenue is “fully owned and controlled by Silverstein and is shovel-ready upon approval,” in contrast to those proposals that may involve city rezoning and other approvals that could potentially exclude them if they are unable to submit their application license to the New York gaming board by the June 27, 2025 deadline.
Source: https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2025/05/14/solovievs-next-play-for-gaming-license-equity/