Nas was already a music icon. And a enterprise capital mogul. And this week, he took the primary of many steps on the trail to turning into a on line casino tycoon.
Yesterday, Resorts World New York Metropolis, owned by Malaysian gaming large Genting Group, gained unanimous approval from the Queens Neighborhood Advisory Committee to increase its current Aqueduct “racino” right into a full-scale Las Vegas–fashion on line casino resort. The $5.5 billion undertaking will characteristic one of many largest on line casino flooring on the earth, a 7,000-seat leisure venue, greater than 1,600 lodge rooms, eating places by celeb cooks, 3,000 items of workforce housing, and acres of latest parkland.
The growth nonetheless requires a full gaming license from New York State, however approval by the native board was a serious hurdle. If the license is granted later this yr, Resorts World expects to start operations by mid-2026, with the complete buildout full by the tip of the last decade. The undertaking is projected to create hundreds of union jobs and generate roughly $1 billion a yr in new tax income for New York.
Nas, who famously grew up in Queens and has constructed a second profession as a enterprise capitalist by his firm QueensBridge Enterprise Companions, has been entrance and middle in selling the bid. He appeared in Resorts World’s promotional supplies, spoke at press conferences, and has tied the undertaking on to his hometown roots. Fellow Queens native Kenny “The Jet” Smith can be on board, serving to to develop a sports activities academy on the on line casino campus.
(Noel Vasquez/Getty Pictures)
How We Received Right here
Stepping approach again, the Aqueduct Racetrack first opened in 1894 in South Ozone Park, Queens. For greater than a century, it was considered one of New York’s premier thoroughbred racing venues, internet hosting marquee occasions just like the Wooden Memorial Stakes. At its peak, tens of hundreds of followers would pack the grandstands for giant races.
By the late twentieth century, although, attendance at horse racing tracks had fallen off sharply. The Aqueduct property, sprawling throughout greater than 200 acres subsequent to JFK Airport, was helpful actual property, however its conventional use was fading. Within the early 2000s, New York State approved the addition of video lottery terminals at racetracks as a strategy to bolster state revenues and rescue struggling racing operations.
That opened the door for Genting Group, a Malaysian hospitality and gaming large, which gained the bid to redevelop Aqueduct right into a “racino.” In 2011, Resorts World New York Metropolis opened with hundreds of slot machines and digital desk video games. It rapidly grew to become essentially the most worthwhile slots operation within the nation, pumping greater than $3 billion in tax income into New York’s training system over its first decade.
Nonetheless, Resorts World was restricted by regulation — it couldn’t supply reside sellers or Las Vegas–fashion gaming. That modified in 2023 when New York lawmakers approved as much as three full on line casino licenses within the downstate area. Resorts World, with its current facility, workforce, and observe file, immediately grew to become a frontrunner.
Enter Nas
Nas formally joined the Resorts World bid in 2024, lending not simply his title however his Queens identification to the undertaking. He appeared in promotional campaigns, spoke at unveiling occasions, and tied the on line casino on to the neighborhood the place he grew up. His pitch was much less about gaming and extra about alternative: jobs, housing, and financial growth for Southeast Queens. Resorts World executives made it clear that Nas was greater than a celeb face — he was a associate serving to to attach the undertaking to the borough’s tradition and folks.
The timing was essential. In 2023, New York State approved three downstate on line casino licenses, sparking a fierce competitors amongst a few of the greatest names in actual property, leisure, and gaming. Proposals got here from Las Vegas Sands on Lengthy Island, Wynn and Associated in Hudson Yards, Caesars in Occasions Sq., Steve Cohen and Onerous Rock in Willets Level, and Thor Equities in Coney Island. Every plan promised jobs, tax income, and neighborhood revitalization. However each bid additionally confronted the problem of securing native political and neighborhood help.
That is the place Nas made a distinction. In September 2025, Resorts World’s Queens proposal cleared a serious hurdle when the native Neighborhood Advisory Committee voted 6–0 in favor of the undertaking. Notably, every week earlier, Jay-Z’s Occasions Sq. bid — in partnership with SL Inexperienced and Caesars — was voted down by its personal neighborhood board, successfully killing its probabilities. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards could not resist a jab on the rivalry, quipping: “There is a theme in Queens, and I do know Nas was part of this: Queens get the cash. Sorry, Jay-Z, we win once more.”
A Unusual Promo Video
Take a look at the promotional video I embedded beneath. It is bizarre.
As you will see, Nas walks by a on line casino, wanting left and proper in any respect the cool video games. His voiceover talks about how this on line casino shall be “the place neighborhood gathers to construct a future.” Riiiiighhhht. Each time I am in a city that has a on line casino, clearly, the entire neighborhood gathers there to construct a future. It is positively not a spot the place folks drink $6 Bud Lights and smoke inside at 10 am whereas shedding their paycheck at roulette….
Anyway, again to the promo video. Nas walks right into a boardroom, and out of nowhere, he now has a silver briefcase. Nas places the briefcase on the boardroom desk, then opens a big pink folder that claims “APPLICATION COMMERCIAL CASINO LICENSE” in big letters on the entrance. He turns to the primary web page and indicators one time on the backside. THEN PLACES THE APPLICATION IN THE BRIEFCASE??? Then he walks out of the on line casino, however not earlier than giving a fast shoutout to Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the Chairman of Genting Group, then leaping right into a ready SUV to seemingly drive off to… Albany?
It is weird:
How A lot Does Nas Personal?
That is the million… or possibly even billion-dollar query. To this point, neither Resorts World nor Nas has disclosed the scale of his stake within the Queens on line casino undertaking, and it is vital to set life like expectations.
Keep in mind: this is not a mom-and-pop deal. Resorts World is owned by Genting Group, a Malaysian multinational with a market cap north of $20 billion and casinos all around the world (Malaysia, Singapore, Las Vegas, London). They’re placing up $5.5 billion to make Aqueduct right into a full Las Vegas–fashion resort. An organization of that measurement and class just isn’t handing out a ten% stake — price $550 million to any celeb, regardless of how iconic, only for promotional help.
By our estimate, Nas’s net worth is $100-200 million. We put it in that vary as a result of a lot of his web price is predicated on the personal valuations of the businesses in his enterprise capital portfolio. Non-public early investments are extraordinarily onerous to worth. His greatest hit thus far is Coinbase. Making some huge assumptions, primarily that he hasn’t offered any shares, QueenBridge Ventures MIGHT personal $100 million price of Coinbase inventory at this time.
As a reminder, the undertaking carries a $5.5 billion price ticket, funded primarily by Genting Group. So is Nas chipping in $100 million for his share? Virtually definitely not.
I additionally doubt Nas would comply with be concerned on this merely as a paid spokesman. Given his historical past as a enterprise investor by QueensBridge Enterprise Companions, it is affordable to imagine he negotiated some slice of fairness. However how huge of a slice and what would that imply when it comes to ongoing earnings when this undertaking is up and working?
As a comparable, let us take a look at Jay-Z’s Brooklyn Nets funding as comp. In January 2004, actual property developer Bruce Ratner purchased the New Jersey Nets for $300 million. He needed to finally deliver the group over the Brooklyn to be the anchor tenant in his deliberate Barclays Middle undertaking. Jay-Z chipped in $1 million to purchase a slice of the group.
In 2009, the luckiest Russian billionaire of all time, Mikhail Prokhorov, purchased 80% of Ratner’s group stake and 45% of the Barclays Middle.
As chances are you’ll keep in mind, Jay-Z was nearly universally described as being the “proprietor” of the Nets throughout this era. So, what share did he truly personal? 0.67%. As in, one-fifteenth of 1 p.c. Jay additionally individually owned one-fifth of 1 p.c of of the Barclays Middle. When Jay offered his stakes to change into a sports activities agent in 2013, he was paid $350,000 and $2 million, respectively.
What 1% of a On line casino May Imply
For example Nas has a 1% stake within the Acqueduct on line casino undertaking. And as an example he was merely gifted that stake with out having to place any cash down. Even a 1% stake in a on line casino could possibly be very significant in the long term. As a reminder, apparently, the Aqueduct on line casino presently generates $1 billion per yr in income. They usually plan to construct one of many largest on line casino flooring on the earth, a 7,000-seat leisure venue, and greater than 1,600 lodge rooms. If all goes to plan PERFECTLY, as an example the longer term on line casino generates $2.5 billion in income per yr.
- If the on line casino generates $2.5 billion in annual income with a ten% web revenue margin, that is $250 million in revenue. A 1% stake would equal $2.5 million per yr.
- If earnings are larger, say $375 million (15% margin), then 1% would deliver $3.75 million yearly.
- In an particularly sturdy yr at $500 million in revenue (20% margin), 1% would yield $5 million per yr.
If he owns 5%, multiply the numbers above by 5, however I’m extraordinarily skeptical that Nas owns 5% of this undertaking. Hopefully I am improper! And, hopefully, future disclosures will give us the true nitty-gritty particulars.
Within the meantime, congrats to Nas! I really hope this on line casino undertaking turns into an infinite success for you, for the folks of Queens, and the folks of New York.
