The New York State Gaming Commission’s Location Board on Dec. 1 voted to recommend that the full commission approve three full-casino licenses for the three New York City operators who remained in the competition after MGM dropped out of consideration for its Empire City site in Yonkers and several community boards in New York City rejected the idea of bringing full-casinos to their areas.
The New York City operators remaining in the competition and now recommended for licenses are Bally’s, Hard Rock and Resorts World. Bally’s wants to build a casino at Ferry Point in the Bronx. It’s where Donald Trump had a golf course on city property. Trump stands to receive a payment of about $115 million if Bally’s builds a casino at the site. Hard Rock would build near Citi Field in Queens. Resorts World would expand at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
MGM Yonkers Inc., a subsidiary of MGM Resorts International on Oct. 14 announced it has withdrawn its commercial casino license application to the Gaming Commission and the Location Board. MGM had created plans for a major expansion of the Empire City and Yonkers Raceway facility that was presented as bringing tens of millions of dollars into Yonkers and employing thousands of people. The expansion project was estimated to have a value of $2.3 billion.
“The newly defined competitive landscape – with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area – challenges the returns we initially anticipated from this project,” MGM said in announcing its withdrawal. “Also, our proposal to renovate and expand Empire City Casino was predicated on the receipt of a 30-year commercial casino license but based on newly issued guidance from the State of New York we now expect to qualify for only a 15-year license. Since submitting our application in June, the competitive and economic assumptions underpinning our application have shifted, altering our return expectations on the proposed $2.3 billion investment.”
The Gaming Commission is expected to award the licenses by the end of this month.
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement after the vote by the Location Board.
“From the moment that three downstate casino licenses were authorized in the 2022 State Budget, I have been clear: any approved project must provide real benefits to its community and have sustainable economic plans,” Hochul said. “I am grateful to Chair (Vicki) Been and the Gaming Facility Location Board for their careful review of the applications according to these high standards. The three projects approved today promise to unlock billions in funding for the MTA and create tens of thousands of jobs. It is critical that they keep those promises. I look forward to the Gaming Commission’s review of the Board’s recommendations in the weeks ahead.”
