The race has begun to see which of the seven bids for casino licenses in the New York City region will be chosen.

Only three can be approved, and all of the developers are proposing multi-billion-dollar projects, including a range of leisure and entertainment amenities beyond just casinos. The developers involved are making large bets on the demand-generation potential of large projects that go beyond gaming. This includes residential components, hotels, entertainment, nightlife and a host of other leisure and recreational amenities.

Last April, the state of New York authorized up to three casino licenses for downstate New York, which includes New York City, Long Island and Westchester County. New York voters first approved the legalization of Las Vegas-style casinos in the state in 2013. In January, the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board announced a request for applications for the three new casino licenses in the New York City area, including Long Island and Westchester. Qualifying bids require a minimum $500 million capital investment and successful bidders will each pay at least an additional $500 million gambling license fee.

The only casino-like option currently in New York’s five boroughs is the Resorts World facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, which has video slot machines but no table games.

While Manhattan has long been considered one of the most attractive, untapped gambling markets in the country, any casino developer will likely have to finesse its way through resistance and a lengthy review and approval process. But those are hurdles, not stop signs, particularly with the mayor and governor firmly on board. When delivered, each project could create a substantial economic impact, including attracting new tourism and adding a large number of jobs in the hospitality and leisure sector.

A panel that includes a six-member community advisory board is tasked with reviewing and recommending these projects. Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul will each have a representative on the panel.

Developers are required to pay a nonrefundable $1 million application fee. Formal bids will be submitted in the coming months and final selections are expected to be made in late 2023. Below is a summary of the projects and related preliminary programs that have been announced.

SL Green Realty Corp., the city’s largest commercial landlord, and Caesars Entertainment are partnering to convert SL Green’s building at 1515 Broadway, a 54-story office tower with a Broadway theater at its base, into a hotel, casino and entertainment complex. The development team includes Roc Nation, the entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z.

The proposed development site has frontage along 44th and 45th streets. Building tenants include Viacom’s global headquarters and the Minskoff Theatre, where The Lion King has shown for 25 years.

The plan envisions an 800-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of gaming space and a host of leisure and entertainment options. Caesars Palace Times Square would reportedly occupy the lower eight floors of the building, while the hotel would complement the casino and occupy the floors above. Additional components would include multiple restaurants and entertainment venues with programming provided by Roc Nation.

Related Companies, the master developer behind Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan, and Wynn Resorts have announced a partnership to pursue a downstate gaming license on the Western Yards at Hudson Yards — the second half of the 28-acre Hudson Yards complex. The plans include a luxury casino, a 1,500-room hotel, 20 restaurants, a nightclub and other entertainment venues.

Their plan is to transform the undeveloped train yard in the western half of Hudson Yards, located next to the Javits Center, into a convention and entertainment district. It would require a nearly 10-acre platform to be built above the rail lines. The partnership’s bid will also include a school, open space and affordable housing.

The Western Yards is adjacent to Javits Center, which recently completed a $1.5 billion expansion and is reportedly one of the busiest convention centers in the United States, hosting the world's leading conventions, trade shows and special events.

The Soloviev Group is partnering with casino operator Mohegan and proposing a mixed-use complex with a casino, a museum, housing and hotel rooms on a site near the United Nations.

Adjacent to the United Nations headquarters on an empty 6.7-acre lot that runs from East 38th to 41st streets on First Avenue, the Soloviev Group is pitching the “Freedom Plaza,” a proposed complex with 1,000 hotel rooms, residential towers, a democracy museum, a Ferris wheel and a casino. Soloviev’s plans include showcasing about 20 12-foot-tall slabs of the Berlin Wall at the site in order to create a tourist destination.

The project will include two apartment towers with up to 1,800 rental and condo units, a portion of which would be reserved for low-income renters. There would also be a public soccer field and a marina on the East River.

Hudson’s Bay Co., the owner of the Saks Fifth Avenue department store chain, has announced plans to convert the top three floors of its flagship store, across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, into a luxury casino.

The area is expected to contain 200,000 square feet of gaming floor space, and the casino would include a separate lobby from the department store.

The casino’s aesthetics and luxury detailing will be in line with the Saks Fifth Avenue store. The developers estimate that the project could take a year to complete, substantially faster than some of the other, larger projects being proposed.

Las Vegas Sands, in collaboration with the developer RXR Realty, is planning a $5 billion project for the nearly 80-acre site around the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, about an hour-and-a-half drive from midtown Manhattan.

Las Vegas Sands has entered an agreement to buy the long-term lease for the site and will bid for a gambling license. The plan calls for outdoor amenities, convention space, hotels and a new entertainment venue. According to Las Vegas Sands, the casino will only represent 10% of the project’s footprint.

The development must be approved by the Nassau County Legislature because the land is publicly owned.

Steve Cohen, the owner of the Mets, is considering a mixed-use complex with a casino on 50 acres of publicly owned land, most of which is currently used as a parking lot.

Cohen has been in talks with Hard Rock to develop a casino on the Willets Point site, near the proposed home of a new soccer stadium that is being undertaken by Related Cos. and Sterling Equities.

The focus of the project is to bring in year-round entertainment and to convert the site, an industrial stretch between the neighborhoods of Corona and Flushing, into a welcoming, walkable and community-oriented area.

Thor Equities is partnering with Saratoga Casino Holdings, the Chickasaw Nation and Legends to bid on a roughly five-acre development site in Coney Island.

The plan envisions a new roller coaster, hotels and museums near the famed Coney Island Boardwalk and 150-foot Wonder Wheel.

The Coney Island site is about an hour’s train ride from midtown Manhattan, and the area has historically attracted mostly seasonal entertainment with limited hotel capacity.

As the different developers finalize their proposals, the program will evolve based on input from the various stakeholders.

However, these projects are being positioned as hospitality, leisure and entertainment destinations, with gaming one of many amenities in the overall program.

The stakes are high. So far, there are seven projects proposed, however, there will be only three winning bids selected. Let the games begin.

The article was updated March 21 to clarify the most recent plans for the Brooklyn and Queens projects.