Hochul Raises Casino Developer Cash Ahead of Licensing Decisions
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A bidding war for New York City area casino licenses is underway, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Democratic Party are taking large donations from the gaming companies and real estate giants developing pricey proposals, according to recently-released campaign finance filings.
In the past two months, Hochul’s fundraising committee accepted large donations from the developers behind casino bids in Times Square, Hudson Yards, and Coney Island, while the state Democratic Party received a $50,000 donation earlier this year from a casino company hopeful.
The contest for up to three New York City casino licenses was accelerated by the state budget that was passed by Gov. Hochul and legislators in April 2022, moving forward the timeline for beginning the process to award the licenses from a 2013 ballot measure by one year, to this past January. The process, which comes with a $1 million application fee, involves multiple phases of review from a variety of city and state boards—but the licenses will ultimately be awarded by the Gaming Facilities Location Board, a five-member panel whose members are appointed by the Gaming Commission, which is effectively controlled by Gov. Hochul.
Since last year, government ethics watchdogs have flagged the appearance of “pay-to-play” in the process for the state to award casino projects to well-connected political donors and their Albany lobbying firms. For example, hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who with his wife donated nearly $139,000 to Hochul’s campaign for governor, mingled with Hochul at her January inauguration and recently hosted the governor at a Mets game, next door to his proposed casino site in partnership with Hard Rock.
With the application process ramping up, more large contributions have continued flowing to Hochul from wealthy previous donors and real estate executives who have casino bids in the running.
Marc Holliday, CEO of real estate company SL Green, donated $18,000 to the committee Friends for Kathy Hochul on June 19, according to state campaign finance data—the amount that is the new state limit for individual contributions to statewide candidates. With Caesars Entertainment, the firm SL Green is readying a bid for a high-profile Times Square casino to be located at 1515 Broadway. In February, Caesars Entertainment of Las Vegas donated $50,000 to the “housekeeping” account of the New York State Democratic Committee.
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In 2021 and 2022, Holliday donated more than $69,000 to Hochul’s campaigns, and over those two years, SL Green founder Stephen Green of Jupiter, Florida donated a total of $15,000 to Hochul. The New York Daily News recently reported that Holliday and Green each gave $2,100 to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election campaign in May and June.
Jeff Blau, CEO of real estate business Related Companies, donated $18,000 to Hochul on July 13, and spouse Lisa Blau, a venture capital investor, donated $18,000 on June 27. With Wynn Resorts, Related is proposing a Hudson Yards casino near the Javits Center. Last October, Lisa Blau also donated $117,300 to the housekeeping account, an obscure pot of funding that is drawn on by the state Democratic Party and has been exposed in past years by good government groups for enabling large donors to circumvent contribution limits. Lobbying firms contracted by the project have shown favor to Hochul recently as well: Related lobbies on real estate issues using Nixon Peabody LLP, whose New York State PAC gave $1,000 to Hochul on June 30; Wynn Resorts lobbies on casino gaming issues using the firm of veteran lobbyist Tonio Burgos, who has given tens of thousands of dollars to Hochul in recent years and kicked $1,000 to the NYS Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee in January.
Sam Gerrity, CEO of Saratoga Casino Hotel, and Daniel W. Gerrity, whose past title was president of Saratoga Casino Holdings, donated $6,670 to Hochul on June 28. The company is proposing a Coney Island site along the boardwalk with Thor Equities, the Chickasaw Nation, and Legends.
The New York Post reported that a potential Coney Island site was also being eyed by billionaire Republican donor John Catsimatidis, CEO of Gristedes and founder of the Red Apple Group conglomerate, who donated $18,000 to Hochul on July 13.
The PAC of slot machine maker International Game Technology gave $5,000 to Hochul on June 1, after previously donating a total of $25,000 to her campaign in October 2021 and January 2022.
Gov. Hochul’s New York City office did not respond to a request for comment on the appearance of pay-to-play in accepting campaign cash from casino license applicants.
Donations from the real estate titans behind New York City casino proposals to Hochul and New York Democrats in recent years have totaled well into the six figures. Steven Roth of Vornado Realty, who is behind a midtown Manhattan proposal at the current Hotel Pennsylvania, donated nearly $70,000 to Hochul in December 2021, the previous maximum. Others bestowing that amount on Hochul include Stephen M. Ross, chair and founder of Related Companies, who also gave $117,300 to the housekeeping account on Oct. 19—and whose daughter Jennifer matched in both cases. Larry Silverstein, chair of Silverstein Properties, whose firm is readying a proposal on Manhattan’s Far West Side, with his spouse Klara donated more than $139,000 to Hochul in January of last year, and gave $25,000 more to the state Democrats in October.
Gaming giant Genting’s PAC donated $47,100 to Hochul, as well as $55,000 to the New York State Democratic Committee in October and November of last year. Hard Rock Cafe of Orlando, Florida donated $128,500 to the Dems’ housekeeping committee on June 27, 2022.
“Dozens of real estate and gambling executives have been dumping cash all over Governor Hochul—it’s pretty clear they want policies that benefit them in return, and it’s pretty clear they’re getting that right now from Governor Hochul,” said Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition, whose members include labor unions like 1199 SEIU and community groups like New York Communities for Change. “The Governor would be more effective and more popular if she’d fight for policies that help all New Yorkers, not ones that mostly benefit billionaires and their corporations.”
A report this year from the nonprofit Public Accountability Initiative and the Center for Popular Democracy found that Hochul raked in more than $9.1 million from at least 394 donors in the real estate industry. Hochul’s wealthy backers included the billionaire Ross of Related Companies, a Trump campaign fundraiser in the 2020 cycle who also funded a super PAC that attacked New York City progressive candidates for office in 2021.
The New York City casinos will open a new front in competition with upstate venues like those operated by Delaware North, the Buffalo-headquartered gaming and hospitality company where Hochul’s spouse, William Hochul, is vice president and head counsel. The gaming company’s compensation provided two-thirds of the nearly $1 million in household income for the Hochuls last year.
The official deadline for casino applications will be 30 days from the gaming board’s response to a second round of questions, which is expected to be this summer or fall. Once a gaming license is acquired, the state requires $500 million in fees per license, among other commitments, and will bring in additional tax revenues from slots and table games.
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