Empire City owners excited by potential changes
Since Yonkers Raceway transformed into Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway in October 2006, it has been far and away the most profitable of the state”™s racetrack casinos ”“ but Resorts World Casino New York City in Queens is quickly closing the gap.
In each of the last four weeks for which data is available ”“ from the week ending Dec. 17 to the week ending Jan. 7 ”“ Resorts World Casino, which first opened Oct. 28 of last year, outperformed its Yonkers counterpart with net winnings of $43.48 million for the four-week stretch compared with $40.49 million at Empire City Casino.
However, the Rooney family, which owns Empire City Casino, said they are not overly concerned by the added competition over the local gambling market and that they have a good relationship with Genting New York L.L.C., which owns Resorts World Casino.
In recent weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Genting have announced plans to build a 3.8-million-square-foot convention center at the Aqueduct Race Track venue in Queens, which also houses Resorts World Casino. Cuomo has also said he will push for an amendment to the state constitution to legalize full commercial gambling.
Timothy Rooney Jr., general counsel for Empire City Casino, said Genting”™s plans do not come as a surprise, adding that any plans to build the convention center and to possibly legalize Las Vegas-style gambling down the road are still in the early stages.
“We would certainly anticipate that if the governor gets his wish there would be a full casino there (at Aqueduct) and we would expect and hope that there would be one here too … we”™re supportive of that and we don”™t have any issue with that additional development there,” Rooney said.
Empire City Casino is nearing the completion of its own 65,000-square-foot expansion, which it plans to unveil in late spring and which comprises roughly 35,000 square feet of additional gaming space and two large restaurants.
Rooney said the casino is also looking closely at additional expansion possibilities, should full commercial gambling be legalized in the state.
While any further expansion is likely contingent on the passage of an amendment, those possibilities include the expansion of the gaming floor, the construction of a hotel, and the addition of an entertainment or exposition venue that could host smaller shows and events. Any combination of the latter options would represent a hundred-million-dollar investment and could result in the addition of hundreds, if not thousands, of construction and permanent jobs, Rooney said.
Empire City Casino employs 1,200 people and contributes approximately $50 million annually to the Yonkers economy in direct and indirect contributions. Of that total, the casino pays the city $20 million annually in host fees, $6 million in taxes and $4 million in PILOTs, or payments in lieu of taxes. Rooney also noted that about half of the casino”™s employees live in Yonkers, meaning they are injecting money back into the city”™s economy.
In the 2010-11 fiscal year, the casino had total net winnings ”“ which refers to the net revenue that remains after all prizes are paid out ”“ of $595 million, or 53.6 percent of the total net winnings generated by the eight racetrack casinos that were operating in New York at the time.
Of the total net winnings collected by Empire City Casino, $304.7 million went directly to the New York State Education Fund while $180.7 million went to the casino under state legislation that governs casino revenue.
Newly inaugurated Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano said any future expansion of the Empire City Casino to possibly include large event space would be an economic “home run” for the city of Yonkers.
Recent developments along the Central Park and Yonkers Avenue corridors can attribute some of their success to the influence that the casino has had in drawing consumers to the area, Spano said, adding that there is still more that can be done to increase the location”™s appeal.
“There was an untapped potential there for a long time, which developers are starting to realize now … that”™s why you”™ve seen the rise of Ridge Hill, the redesign and reconfiguration of (the Cross County Shopping Center) and of Macy”™s,” Spano said. “So there”™s a tremendous potential there. The demographics will support the expansion.”
Spano is also connected to Empire City Casino through his brother, Nick Spano, whose Albany lobbying firm represents the casino.