Bally’s chairman Soo Kim delivered a blunt defense of legalized gambling on Tuesday during TRD’s real estate forum, where he cast his company’s casino victory as the product of strategic site selection, “laying low” during the RFP process and his own New York City roots.
“You have to legalize it and tax the shit out of it,” Kim said when asked about the social costs of gaming. “That is the societal response to activities of free choice that have negative externalities.”
Kim, who grew up in Queens, framed Bally’s as the only “local” gaming operator in the competition for downstate casino licenses, contrasting the company’s proposal with rival Manhattan bids backed by New York real estate heavyweights and international casino giants.
The conversation offered an inside look at how Bally’s outmaneuvered better-known competitors. Kim argued that others miscalculated the logistics by assuming Manhattan would be the obvious winner.
“Nobody walks to a casino. Nobody takes a subway to a casino,” he said. “They drive to a casino, and so a Manhattan casino pretty much had the same amount of success as the Olympic stadium, which wasn’t very successful.”
Kim said the scale of casino traffic would have overwhelmed Manhattan infrastructure. Bally’s Bronx proposal at Golf Links at Ferry Point – formerly operated by the Trump Organization as a golf course – will include more than 5,000 parking spaces as part of a planned $4 billion development featuring a gaming facility, hotel and entertainment venue.
Kim also addressed the bruising political fight surrounding the project. Bally’s initially faced opposition from the City Council despite an earlier rezoning approval. Kim suggested rival bidders launched opposition campaigns once Bally’s emerged as a credible contender.
“All of a sudden people started looking at us as a viable competitor,” he said. “And started to spend their resources not only on pushing their bid, but trying to beat ours down.”
The casino operator ultimately survived after Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the Council’s rejection.
Kim also recounted how Bally’s entered the race by buying out the Trump Organization’s operating rights at Ferry Point for $60 million after reading a news report that the city was struggling to sever ties with the Trumps.
“I was like, ‘Wait a second, I can figure this out,’” Kim said. “You just have to come to commercial terms.”
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