Genting—the energy-to-palm oil conglomerate controlled by Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay—is building new hotels and a multi-purpose arena as part of the second phase of its $5.5 billion integrated casino resort expansion in New York City.
“In less than three months after opening our doors as the first casino in New York City’s history, we are already moving towards a day when the city will have a first-of-its-kind integrated resort,” Lim, executive chairman of Kuala Lumpur-based Genting Group, said in a statement after spearheading the ground breaking ceremony for the project on Wednesday.
Since the opening of Resorts World New York City in April, it has paid $170 million in taxes and in the first 12 weeks of its operations, making the resort the largest casino in the U.S. in terms of gross gaming revenues, according to Genting. With the addition of 1,400 slot machines this month and plans to add more gaming tables by the end of the year, Resorts World NYC could be paying about $1 billion in taxes annually, the Kuala Lumpur-based company said.
Resorts World NYC, a unit of Genting Malaysia, is expanding at its 72-acre site in Queens by adding a 400-room hotel tower to the existing 400-room Hyatt Regency, and constructing a 1,200-room Crockfords Hotel and a 7,000-seat entertainment venue. It also plans to develop 2 million square feet of gaming, entertainment, dining, retail and convention space, adding to the existing 1 million-square-foot complex, the company said. It didn’t disclose when the expansion will be completed.
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Genting Group has been operating in Southeast Queens for 15 years, welcoming about 5 million visitors annually and employing around 2,500 people. Resorts World NYC began the expansion project after winning one of three gaming licenses last December. Once completed, the 500,000-square-foot casino will increase the number of slot machines by 50% to 6,000 and more than triple gaming tables to 800. The new Las Vegas-style resort is expected to generate $2.2 billion in annual revenue.
Besides operating casinos in New York and Las Vegas, Genting also has presence in the Bahamas, Malaysia and Singapore. With a net worth of $1.6 billion according to Forbes’ real-time data, Lim is one of the wealthiest in Malaysia. He has steered Genting’s expansion both overseas and into new businesses, including energy, real estate and biotech.
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