Posted on: December 9, 2024, 10:06h.
Last updated on: December 9, 2024, 10:18h.
Steve Cohen and his New York Mets landed the biggest prize of the MLB offseason after acquiring Juan Soto from the team’s crosstown rival New York Yankees.
Cohen’s gift to Mets fans this holiday season is a bit costlier than your family white elephant exchange. The bidding war that included the Yanks, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers resulted in Cohen ponying up $765 million to bring the 26-year-old slugger to Queens for the next 15 years.
Soto’s deal is the biggest contract in sports history. Cohen reportedly told Soto during their meeting at one of the billionaire’s homes in California that he believes it’s his “civic duty” to make the Mets a winner and become the more respected team in the Subway series.
While Soto was Cohen’s focus for the Mets, the founder of the Point72 Asset Management hedge fund hopes to make an even richer bet in Queens next year by investing in the construction of an integrated resort casino at his Citi Field MLB ballpark.
Cohen’s 2025 Wishlist
The New York Gaming Facility Location Board is expected to determine the three winning casino bids for the downstate region by the end of next year. Cohen is in the crowded bidding pool in a partnership with Hard Rock International.
Cohen’s bid is considered a strong candidate due to the businessman’s endless pockets — Forbes estimates his real-time net worth at $21.3 billion — and close ties to powerplays in Albany, namely Gov. Kathy Hochul.
MGM Resorts is the front-runner for one of the licenses to transition its Empire City video lottery racino at the Yonkers Raceway into a Las Vegas-like resort casino with traditional slot machines, live dealer table games, and sports betting. Genting has also been labeled a favorite for its Resorts World New York City racino in Queens near JFK International.
Recently, however, there have been concerns about the Malaysia-based conglomerate allowing underground bookies and felons with illegal gambling convictions access to its Resorts World Las Vegas casino and sportsbook. RWLV fired its then-President Scott Sibella in September 2023. In January 2024, the gaming executive pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, a federal law designed to prevent money laundering.
In 2022, Resorts World Las Vegas was also accused of allowing a convicted felon to hold a significant stake in one of its onsite restaurants, violating Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) regulations.
Genting’s Misfortune Cohen’s Good Luck?
Resorts World’s regulatory shortcomings in Nevada have presumably lengthened Genting’s odds of securing one of the three downstate New York gaming licenses.
RWNYC and Cohen’s Citi Field are less than six air miles apart, though the drive can take over a half-hour because of traffic. Still, because of their relative proximity, a decision by the state Gaming Facility Location Board to not grant Genting one of the three concessions would unquestionably shorten Cohen’s odds.
Dubbed Metropolitan Park, Cohen and Hard Rock have proposed an $8 billion Hard Rock Hotel & Casino integrated resort development with 20 acres of green space, five acres of athletic fields, a playground, and major improvements to mass transit.
