Resorts World NYC seemed to benefit from having strong relationships to the neighbourhood for more than ten years, as it got a lot of public support at its first NY casino hearing.

 On Wednesday, there was a public hearing for the Resorts World NYC casino bid at Queens Borough Hall. Everyone who spoke was in favour.  There were 44 speakers in the project's local community advisory committee (CAC) meeting, and all of them were in favour.

 RWNYC and MGM Empire City are two of the eight bids competing for three open licenses. They are both already established facilities, which gives them a big advantage in terms of community connections.  Since 2011, the casino has been a video lottery terminal (VLT) facility, which has helped it build strong relationships with the community. This may be shown by the fact that no union leaders or non-affiliated local residents have shown up.

 Many neighbourhood leaders, civic leaders, and nonprofit groups supported the casino's plan to grow by $5.5 billion.  If permitted, RWNYC would trade its VLTs for Class III slots and table games and fill in empty space so that it could open by July 2026.  That speed to market is the fastest in the field, a year ahead of MGM's planned launch in July 2027.

 RWNYC is the state's biggest taxpayer, bringing in almost $1 billion a year. It is also one of the most profitable places in the US.  Since 2011, the casino has paid about $5 billion in taxes and has promised to pay even more if the deal goes through.  These things make the bid stronger.

 Kevin Jones, the chief legal and strategic officer for Resorts World's parent firm Genting Americas, said, "For many hopefully obvious reasons, Resorts World is a clear choice for a downstate commercial licence."  "We can get to market faster than anyone else, and we can open by next summer, six months after we get our licence."  We mean that the ground-up sites will have a head start of five years or more.

 New news since the last casino presentation in New York
 RWNYC chose to offer a shorter presentation before the time for comments.  Jones, along with other Genting officials Robert DeSalvio and Michelle Stoddard, went over important information and talked about new things the business has done since the last CAC meeting on July 22.

 One of the announcements was that a Resorts World Career Centre would open at Jamaica Station in Queens.  According to a press release, the job hub will open on September 16 in "anticipation of adding thousands of new team members."  Another new curriculum was an enlarged "Intro to Gaming Operations" community program that was free through CUNY/York College.

 DeSalvio, who runs Genting's New York operations, stated, "The synergies you get when you combine casino hotels with the luxury and vast entertainment and leisure opportunities is that special sauce embedded in our DNA."

 Resorts World NYC has a lot of support from the community.
 On Wednesday, a lot of different groups were there, all of which had worked with the Resorts World complex throughout the years.  The organisations had different goals and members, but no one doubted the company's honesty.

 Katha Cato, executive director of the Queens World Film Festival, said, "If you go to a meeting with Queens Economic Development Corp, Queens Rising, Queens Chamber, at the library, or any of our cultural gems, they are not only in the room, they are advocating for all of us."

 RWNYC would go live immediately, but it would keep adding new phases over the next five years.  The new integrated resort would have 2,000 hotel rooms and cover 5.6 million square feet when it is finished.  With 6,000 slots and 800 tables, its casino would have the most machines in the US.  Local partners praised these big plans.

 “Gaming is the next big thing for jobs in New York City,” said Tom Grech, CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.  "We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to boost our economy and create thousands of middle-class jobs in the communities that need them the most because the state is thinking about giving out up to three new downstate casino licenses."

 Big changes in upstate New York
 Genting's New York operations have been very busy lately.  Along with the RWNYC project, the Resorts World Catskills property upstate is also going through a lot of renovations.

 On August 15, Genting's Empire Resorts division, which runs RWC, agreed to sell two hotels, an 18-hole golf course, the 2,500-seat RWC Epicentre, a spa, and several eateries.  The potential buyer is Sullivan County Resort Facilities Local Development Corp. They will pay $525 million for the assets.

 The money will be used to buy about 1,500 acres from EPR Properties and pay off certain unsecured notes.  Genting stated in a statement that the acquisition will "allow Empire to own about 1,554.6 acres of land that will not have any debt on it."  The site contains the 420 acres where RWC's gaming and non-gaming assets are located, as well as "1,134.6 acres of vacant land that could be developed" nearby.

 "The proposal will strengthen GENM's long-term commitment to improving its competitive position in the New York State gaming market and the northeastern US region as a whole," the business said.