Genting ... Aug10

Its subsidiary Genting New York LLC (Genting NY) has won the bid to develop and operate a video lottery facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York with a proposal that includes US$380 million (RM1.2 billion) as an upfront licensing fee.

New York Lottery announced its evaluation committee had unanimously recommended to the New York governor that Genting NY be awarded the aqueduct racino project.

The recommendation will have to be approved by the New York governor, the temporary president of the New York State Senate and the speaker of the New York State Assembly before the video lottery licence can be awarded.

Genting NY would work closely with the relevant parties, including the operator of the Aqueduct Racetrack, the New York Racing Association, and expected to open the preliminary phase of Resorts World New York six months after the award of the licence.

The video lottery facility, to be called Resorts World New York, would contain 4,500 electronic slot machines or video lottery terminals.

Resorts World New York would include a grand entrance featuring a three-storey atrium with a water show, enclosed skyway pedestrian bridge linking to the mass transit system of New York, 450-seat two-storey festive casual dining promenade and parking facilities for 7,000 cars, including a 2,200-car garage.

Industry observers say the state may approve the bid sooner rather than later given its dire financial state, but there could be further hiccups although a state judge had earlier dismissed the lawsuit by Aqueduct Entertainment Company (AEC), which was the previous winning bidder whose licence application was later denied. AEC planned to seek an injunction that would block final approval by state leaders.

GenM’s proposal had entailed a phased development process that would begin with the opening of a preliminary phase of the facility equipped with 1,600 video lottery terminals six months after approval.

GenM had committed to invest a capital expenditure (capex) of US$41 million within the first 10 years of operations for planned improvements and a minimum of 0.5% of gross gaming revenue for maintenance capital expense.