Mets owner Steve Cohen, other casino bidders among top spenders as record $138M pledged to lobby NYC
Mets owner Steve Cohen and other casino bidders are going all in.Six of the top 10 spenders lobbying the New York City government last year were casino bidders, spearheading a record $138 million on schmoozing Mayor Eric Adams and other elected and agency officials for assistance.In all, pro-casino interests spent more than $6 million on lobbyists to win over support, according to data and the annual report compiled by the city Clerk’s Office.The $138 million in overall spending on lobbying is a jump of over $7 million from $130.96 million in 2023, the report said.“This level of spending for casinos was the full employment act for lobbyists in 2024,” said John Kaehny, executive director of the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany.Chimed in Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group, “Casinos are looking to load the dice by hiring an army of lobbyists to cash in on the casino contracts.”Cohen and his Queens Future firm proposing a Metropolitan Park casino complex in Willets Point next to Citi Field — in partnership with Seminole Hard Rock — spent more than $2 million combined on lobbying.But the figure is chump change for Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund mogul who pledged nearly $800 million to land free agent baseball star Juan Soto and whose philanthropy includes donating $116 million to LaGuardia Community College and spreading his wealth to other community groups.Cohen is one of scores of bidders applying for up to three state casino licenses in the New York City region, expected to be approved by gaming officials by year’s end.Genting’s Resorts World slots parlor next to Aqueduct Racetrack, which wants a license to offer live table games, spent $990,000, according to the clerk’s office.Bally’s, which is pitching a casino next to the former Trump Ferry Point golf course in The Bronx, spent $914,000.East River Realty/ Stefan Soloviev and Mohegan Sun bidding to build a “Freedom” casino along the East River spent $61...