Saks Fifth Avenue Folds Its Casino Proposal

There’s one fewer seat at the table of bidders for a New York downstate gaming license.

Saks Fifth Avenue has pulled its bid for one of three licenses up for grabs, Crain’s reported. People close to the matter told the outlet there had been little communication from Saks’ parent, Saks Global, with those involved in the casino process in recent months, signaling it was waving the white flag.

“At this time, the company is no longer pursuing a downstate New York gaming license and is focused on other strategic priorities,” said a spokesperson for Saks.

Two years ago, the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue announced a proposal to convert the top three floors of its Midtown Manhattan flagship location at 611 5th Avenue into a casino.

The Saks project was proposed to take over the store’s top three floors, spanning 200,000 square feet with a lobby and separate casino entrance. Critically, the conversion was expected to be done within a year of getting the green light, a much shorter timeframe than other proposals.

But the proposal had numerous disadvantages from the start. The local community board opposes any casinos in the district. The building’s position — across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral — was also seen as problematic because it’s a city landmark. It never even came around to announcing a gambling company to partner on the project and operate the casino.

Even so, there was work happening behind the scenes to support the proposal. Up until last July, lobbyists from Cozen O’Connor were pitching the project to city and state officials.

With Saks exiting the scene, there are 10 bidders competing for three downstate gaming licenses. The racinos at Resorts World in Queens and Empire City in Yonkers are believed to be frontrunners for licenses because of the infrastructure already in place.

That leaves eight contenders for one license. Applications are due on June 27.

— Holden Walter-Warner

Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously said that Saks’ parent is Hudson’s Bay Company. The story has been updated to reflect that the retailer’s current owner is Saks Global.