Overview
- Bally’s Bronx at Ferry Point, Hard Rock’s Metropolitan Park by Citi Field, and Resorts World at Aqueduct each secured full commercial licenses at Monday’s Gaming Commission meeting.
- Licenses require independent monitors to track legal compliance and delivery of promised benefits, with regular reporting to the commission.
- Each licensee must pay a $500 million fee and meet major capital commitments, with board projections of roughly $7 billion in gaming taxes from 2027–2036 plus $1.5 billion in fees and other state and local taxes.
- Resorts World, already operating at Aqueduct, is positioned to launch table games within months, while Metropolitan Park targets a January 2026 construction start and both new resorts aim for openings around 2030.
- Bally’s deal triggers a $115 million payment to the Trump Organization tied to the Bronx site, as developers tout thousands of union jobs and sizable community-benefit packages benefiting transit and education.