Steve Cohen (NY Mets Twitter)
Steve Cohen, the billionaire investor and owner of MLB’s New York Mets, is getting into the casino business, or at least he hopes to do so. Gambling and professional baseball used to be incompatible, but not anymore. And now, it seems, every state in America is moving forward with the legalization of sports gambling.
It all started when the US Supreme Court struck down federal laws that prohibited sports gambling in the various states. Now, as a result, any state can legalize sports gambling and many have. That has propelled the states to legalize outright gambling casinos and New York is getting in on that game too.
So why shouldn’t Steve Cohen get in on the game? After all, his New York Mets play at Citi Field which is right next to some real estate just itching for new development in Flushing, Queens. And New York is entertaining bids for the area’s development. Cohen reportedly has lined up a partner in Seminole Hard Rock – a casino operator – on a possible project at the site.
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Well, while sports gambling apps and websites are able to advertise now in sports broadcasts, the leagues are still wary of having direct connections with gambling because it could lead to corruption with players and officials tempted to take bribes to throw games or give away inside information to gamblers. And professional baseball has been especially sensitive to this ever since nine Chicago White Sox players took money from gamblers to throw the World Series in 1919.
But will Cohen win the bid for the project and will New York City even authorize a casino at that location? Well, the NY Post reported that Steve Cohen was the single largest donor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign, pumping in $2 million.
And Warren Schreiber, who heads a Queens civic organization opposed to the casino, told Bloomberg News that Steve Cohen has already “hired the best team that money can buy” to lobby on his behalf for the project.
So, now it is a matter of waiting to see what New York City and State governments decide. And even if they authorize a casino, Steve Cohen will not be the only bidder for a project.
Steven A. Cohen is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Point72, a 2,000+ person registered investment advisor. Mr. Cohen founded S.A.C. Capital Advisors in 1992 and converted his investment operations to the Point72 Asset Management family office in 2014.
Steve Cohen has leveraged his lengthy career in the public markets to found Point72 Ventures, a global venture capital strategy, and Point72 Hyperscale, a private equity strategy that seeks to drive value creation through applied AI.
