Proposed New York City casino sites include Times Square in a renovated office building.
I visited Singapore last week for the G2E Asia gaming conference and trade show, held at Marina Bay Sands. MBS remains the most impressive and profitable casino resort on earth, symbol of a Singapore that’s grown past chewing gum bans. Crosstown rival Resorts World Sentosa draws domestic and international visitors with Universal Studios and other attractions.
Casino licenses on offer for New York City and vicinity should inspire similarly sensational integrated resorts. But the licenses will likely produce no-frills cash boxes, bringing the city more of what it doesn’t need. Without a major policy rethink, the city will be better off without them.
Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for iGaming Business, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.