This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 24, 2026 - August 30, 2026

GENTING Malaysia Bhd’s (KL:GENM) big bet on the whopping US$5.5 billion (RM22.2 billion) Resorts World New York City (RWNYC) casino appears to be paying off 16 weeks into its relaunch.

Last December, the hospitality and casino operator was awarded a full gaming licence by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board. The first phase of RWNYC was opened several months ahead of schedule on April 28 this year.

As the property was already in place, having previously operated exclusively with video lottery terminals and electronic table games (ETGs), GENM was able to move quickly to deploy table games and additional slot machines at RWNYC.

“RWNYC also has the first mover advantage, with the property expected to operate without direct casino competition until 2030,” highlights GENM’s parent Genting Bhd (KL:GENTING) in an email reply to The Edge. Genting has a 73.83% stake in GENM.

RWNYC’s two competitors, which also recently obtained their full gaming licence, are greenfield projects and will only start operations in 2030. The two competitors are Metropolitan Park, owned by hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, and Bally’s Corp, whose owner Kim Soo completed the takeover of Australian casino operator Star Entertainment in January.

With the head start it has in New York, data from the New York State Gaming Commission shows that RWNYC’s gross game revenue (GGR) has been consistently above US$30 million a week since the week ended July 5.

Most of the GGR comes from the slot machines and ETGs, ranging from US$19.5 million a week to US$21.6 million, while the GGR contribution of table games was between US$8.9 million and US$11.08 million a week.

Table game drop — the amount of money exchanged for chips at the table — has also been climbing. The weekly table game drop stood at US$34.55 million from a daily average of 242 tables for the week ended May 3. This increased to US$51.39 million for the week ended Aug 9.

GENM’s second quarter earnings report showed early results.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2026 (2QFY2026), the group reported that revenue for its US and Bahamas leisure and hospitality operations had more than doubled to RM1.53 billion from a year earlier, while its adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) had increased 83% to RM216.6 million. It attributed the improvement to the commencement of the initial phase of its full commercial casino operations at RWNYC.

For 2QFY2026, GENM reported a net profit of RM47.4 million, down 89% from a year earlier, while revenue climbed to RM3.85 billion from RM2.92 billion previously. The slide in net profit was expected, on account of the ramp-up costs, higher depreciation and financing cost for the development of RWNYC.

The group also mentioned in its Aug 20 press release that RWNYC had about 3,900 slot machines and 242 table games. Its plan, according to analysts’ reports, is to increase the number of table games by another 160 units to bring the total to 400 by year end or early 2027.

Maybank Investment Bank Research pointed out in its July 29 report that it had forecast GENM’s American operations — which would include RWNYC, Resorts World Catskills (RWC), Resorts World Hudson Valley and Resorts World Bimini — to contribute 36% to group Ebitda in FY2027. Based on the research house’s projections, that works out to about RM1.45 billion of its forecast group Ebitda of RM3.98 billion for FY2027.

“It is this earnings growth from RWNYC that compels us to maintain our ‘buy’ rating on GENM,” said Maybank IB Research, which has a target price of RM2.82 on the counter.

Genting says it broke ground on Phase 2 of the billion dollar project in July, with RWNYC now progressing to the next stage of the expansion.

RWNYC forecasts that its full casino will be operating in a built-up area of 3.4 million sq ft and will house 6,000 machines and 800 tables by 2029 — a year before its rivals.

With the huge investment outlay of US$5.5 billion required for the RWNYC project, the question is, how will it be funded?

Without going into the specifics of how the financing will be undertaken, Genting said in its reply to The Edge that “financing for RWNYC’s capital expenditure (capex) required is already in place”.

The group says the total capex of US$5.5 billion for the project includes its previous investments of US$1.1 billion in the existing facility and new capex of US$4.4 billion. The licensing fee of US$500 million was paid in January 2026, with the balance to be incurred over the next five years.

In Kenanga Research’s report in February, the research house said that with GENM’s plan to spend US$1 billion on about 400 tables and 4,000 machines by end-FY2026, with the intention of expanding its Ebitda from US$120 million to US$200 million-US$300 million by FY2027, RWNYC would be able to fund the project itself as much as possible. It opined that it would be “tight but doable”, as much of it hinged on RWNYC succeeding in retaining New York customers who currently frequent casinos in the neighbouring states with live games.

“As such, the risk of dilution or a cash call may be lower than earlier perceived. In any case, GENM owns 15 acres in Miami which was nearly sold for US$1.2 billion. Genting, which now owns 73% of GENM, can afford to be diluted a little, which gives GENM the flexibility to place out treasury shares (US$100 million to US$200 million, depending on price) or issue up to 10% of new shares (US$100 million to US$200 million) without triggering a rights issue,” said Kenanga Research.

Genting says in its reply to The Edge that with its 15 years of operating history in New York, the expansion is expected to significantly enhance the property’s long-term earnings potential.

Notably, Genting CEO Datuk Seri Tan Kong Han was cited in a news article recently as saying that the performance of RWNYC could “surpass” that of Resorts World Genting Highlands.

However, the Genting group’s experience in the US has not been rosy so far, with Empire Resorts Inc’s history sticking out like a sore thumb.

Empire Resorts is wholly owned by Genting Empire Resorts LLC. Its principal asset is RWC, the integrated casino resort in Monticello, New York, which is located 140km away from New York City.

In June 2025, Genting Empire Resorts became a wholly-owned subsidiary of GENM after the latter acquired the remaining 51% equity interest from controlling shareholder Kien Huat Realty III Ltd — the investment vehicle of Genting’s Lim family — for US$41 million.

GENM had acquired the initial stake of 46% in Genting Empire Resorts from Kien Huat for US$128 million cash in 2019. Empire Resorts’ loss-making situation meant that GENM had to make several capital injections over the years, of more than US$700 million through common and preferred stock, to keep the operations running.

Revenue data from the New York State Gaming Commission shows the stark contrast between RWNYC and RWC, whose weekly GGR averaged at US$3.52 million per  week in the last three months.

The acquisition of the remaining 51% stake in Empire Resorts pushed GENM’s net gearing to almost 100% as the former’s debts were consolidated into its balance sheet after becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary.

As at June 30, 2026, GENM’s total borrowings amounted to RM15.7 billion against its cash holdings of RM2.6 billion. This put it in a net debt position of RM13.1 billion, with a net gearing of more than 100%.

Meanwhile, Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV), which is parked under parent Genting, has been maundering along. Genting had spent US$4.5 billion to construct RWLV and opened its doors in 2021.

In Genting’s 2QFY2026 results announcement, it said RWLV’s revenue and adjusted Ebitda for the quarter benefited from an increase in convention attendance. Hotel occupancy improved slightly to 88% from 80.2% a year earlier while the average daily rate (ADR) was US$274, from US$265 previously.

Genting also said RWLV had seen an improvement in high-end play. But it did not give any details or figures to show exactly how well RWLV was doing.

With the amount of investment that will be poured into the project, there must be big plans for RWNYC.

In the executive summary of its proposal to the New York authorities, the casino operator emphasised that it is projected to generate about US$11.5 billion in GGR and US$5 billion in tax revenue for New York state in the four years before its competitors even begin their operations.

It also pointed out that for every additional year that the greenfield projects are delayed beyond 2031, RWNYC will continue to generate US$4 billion of GGR and pay US$1.7 billion in taxes a year.

With RWNYC only at the nascent stage of operations, only time will tell whether the investment in New York turns out to be the golden goose for the Genting group.

GENM’s share price closed at RM1.73 on Aug 20, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM9.8 billion. The counter was down 11.3% year on year.

The average target price among analysts covering the stock is RM2.34 and there are seven “buy” recommendations and seven “hold” calls. This means the analysts, just like the funds, are waiting to see if the investment in RWNYC pans out.

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