Malaysian top-tier gaming operator, Genting Berhad, has recently announced the sale of 16 acres of land of its premium Miami real estate property. According to the Bloomberg report cited by IAG, the casino giant has already received five bids exceeding us$ 1 billion for the attractive location, with one hitting almost US$1.5 billion.
Finalizing the Sale:
Genting unveiled its intention to sell the land less than four months ago after the failure of its 10-year lobbying campaign to have Florida’s state gaming laws changed to legalize gambling. The decision has been followed by the Miami real estate broker Michael Fay, who said that Genting has been finalizing the sale and expect to close it in a few weeks. It’s also been Fay who declined to name the bidders but said that the highest bid received for the 16 acres of attractive development site amounts to almost US$ 1.5 billion representing the record offer for this type of land.
“If we get what we hope to achieve, this could be the highest price paid for any development site in the country,” Fay told Bloomberg, as IAG reports. According to the same sources, Genting is going to send the land in late November and use the sale-generated assets to propel the proposed casino expansion in New York City.
The information was confirmed by Robert DeSalvio, the President of Genting Americas East, who recently said: “In the coming months, we will be marshaling our resources with the goal of bringing a full commercial casino to our New York City property and expanding our already-tremendous offerings in Las Vegas. We are thrilled about the opportunities to expand in the two most significant gaming markets in North America.”
Legalization Hopes Run Dry:
The casino operator has given up its long-time expectations of the regulator’s changes to the legislation in the Sunshine State. The subject development site is located in the popular art and entertainment waterfront on Biscayne Bay, across from Miami Beach and the company hoped to develop a hotel and casino resort to be named Resorts World Miami. As Genting already owns the Hilton Miami Downtown hotel and the associated Omni Center, the Resort World Miami property would anchor the operator’s position in the city of Miami.
However, the legislature has not fulfilled Genting’s hopes and the giant is about to leave its 16 acres of Miami land to search for more solid grounds in New York or Las Vegas. As the company purchased the land for US$236 million in 2011, it will use more than US$ 1 billion of the profit from the announced sale to expand its current Resorts World New York City casino. Genting is one of three operators to be granted full gaming licenses in New York this year, which will enable it to add gaming tables to its current slot-only NY property.
In addition to New York, Genting operates the US$4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, since 2021. The intended Miami development would contribute to Genting’s comprehensive US casino offerings in terms of the locations covered, but the land subject to Miami heat for too long has dried up the operator’s hopes for its sooner developments in the state of Florida.