Thor, Partners Plan $3B Coney Island Casino Development

They’re calling it “The Coney.”

Manhattan-based Thor Equities and its partners have taken the wraps off their bid for one of three casino licenses that will awarded in the NYC area next year.

Thor and its partners, Saratoga Casino Holdings, a family-owned casino and hotel operator in upstate NY, the Chickasaw Nation and hospitality operator Legends, released details on the proposal on Thursday.

The $3B development, located next to the Coney Island subway station, includes a 250K, 500-room hotel, a 92K SF convention center, 79K of retail and restaurants, and a 2,500-seat concert venue.

“We have heard time and time again that Coney Island needs a project that provides year-round economic support while also lifting up the infrastructure in one of the most densely traveled areas of the community,” Saratoga Casino Holdings CEO Sam Gerrity said, in a statement.

In April, state regulators disclosed that they won’t be picking the winners in the high-stakes bidding war for three NYC-area casino licenses until late 2025.

This means it’s unlikely that any of the billion-dollar gaming palaces that have been proposed in NYC will be opening their doors before the end of 2026 or later. Each license will require a $500M licensing fee.

Robert Williams, executive director of NY’s state Gaming Commission, noted at a public hearing that the City Council has yet to approve a zoning amendment to facilitate the development of casinos in NYC, the New York Post reported.

Several of the proposed casino projects would first need to be approved under the city’s lengthy Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure, Williams said. Bidders also will have to undergo a separate state environment impact assessment required by the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

“I have been informally advised that navigating the [land use] process will extend through the second quarter of 2025,” Williams said.

Williams said two of the casino bid proposals, Mets owner Steve Cohen’s bid for a casino next to Citi Field and Bally’s proposal for a casino at Ferry Point in The Bronx, will need approval from the state legislature to change the designation of the properties from parkland to commercial use.

After environmental reviews are completed during the first half of 2025, Community Advisory Committees—which include legislators and borough presidents—will hold later-summer votes in 2025 to support or reject a casino bid, Williams said.

The two operating “racinos” in the NYC area—Resorts World New York’s slots parlor at Aqueduct race track in Queens and the MGM slots parlor at Yonkers raceway—are positioned to convert quickly into full-scale casinos if they are awarded licenses.