New York City Casino Pitch Includes Cryptocurrency Trading Floor
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(Bloomberg) -- Money manager Jason Ader will submit plans on Dec. 10 for a casino in the New York area that features what he said would be the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading floor and a landing pad for flying cars.
Ader, a former casino analyst, said the project will also include an esports arena and space for events such as New York Fashion Week. The project could cost $3 billion or more, depending on the site, which has yet to be determined. Ader said he would prefer the location be in Manhattan.
“The goal is to have a differentiated but comprehensive approach to entertainment that goes beyond casino gaming with some pretty cool elements,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
The New York State Gaming Commission set a Dec. 10 deadline to receive requests for information for what is expected to be three new casino licenses in the southernmost part of the state. They are the last ones authorized as part of a 2013 ballot measure that allowed for seven new nontribal casinos, four of which have already been built upstate.
Ader said his resort would be called Mirai, which means future in Japanese.
MGM Resorts International and Genting Group, which own slot-machine parlors at horse-racing tracks in the New York City area, are expected to seek expanded casino offerings, including table games. Other operators that have signaled their interest include Bally’s Corp. and Las Vegas Sands Corp., which has held preliminary discussions with Mets owner Steve Cohen about a casino near Citi Field.
A casino in Manhattan has drawn opposition from local legislators. Other sites being considered are on Long Island and in neighboring counties.
Ader, who is also a former Sands board member, will make his bid through a new business he is forming in partnership with Universal Entertainment Corp., a major Japanese gambling company. 26 Capital Acquisition Corp., a blank check company Ader founded, is merging with a Philippines-based casino resort owned by Universal. The new company will be debt free, he said, and benefit from Universal’s experience building the multibillion-dollar Okada Manila resort overseas.
