Another Billionaire Wants to Bet Big on the Upcoming New York Casino Industry

The landlord of apartments, farmer, and railroad tycoon Stefan Soloviev has a vast empire spanning from the harsh croplands of the American West to the financial gladiatorial rings. He wants to enter the US casino industry as he already holds vacant land at a great location in Midtown, NY.

The Gambling Investment

The 47-year-old millionaire farmer Soloviev plans to apply for a license to run a casino on a sizable property that has been vacant for more than 20 years after his father, the late Sheldon Solow, agreed to buy it. The casino will be located south of the United Nations in New York. The current design calls for a 1,000-room hotel, a 4-acre (1.6-hectare) park, a Ferris wheel, and a democracy museum.

Investors continue to target all licensed states, including New York City, for the development of casinos. The legality of online gambling in the USA is governed by numerous state laws. Virtual is generally forbidden unless states pass laws. This is true for states that expressly permit online casino gaming, including West Virginia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. In the remaining states, only physical casinos are permitted to offer to gamble.

So far New York city only allows sportsbetting in the state but many argue it’s not far from an online casino bill to be passed.

Gambling Project

One of Solow's extravagant wagers is where the casino bid originates. In 2000, Solow and his partners agreed to purchase the property. They paid Consolidated Edison Inc. over $600 million for the 9-acre site, which included a piece of land with a century-old steam generating plant. The project, which will cost $4 billion, would have more than 4,000 apartments and a roughly 700-foot (213-meter) office tower. The developers cleaned up the property and created blueprints for it.

The financial crisis halted the project. Solow built on one parcel, sold another, and left six more acres available for the potential casino project.

Michael Hershman, chief executive officer of Soloviev Group, stated that the company was in talks with numerous Las Vegas-based companies and would collaborate with a gaming company. The project will create an entertainment district that will liven up a desolate area of Manhattan and extend over the FDR Drive to the East River.

It will be challenging to obtain one of the three potentially lucrative and legal licenses for New York's downstate region. Giants in the real estate and finance sectors, such as SL Green Realty Corp., Related Cos., owned by Stephen Ross, and Steve Cohen of Point72 Asset Management, are lined up for a chance to win when the state issues a formal call for proposals.