Bally’s Chair: Anti-Trump Sentiment Delaying NYC Casino Vote

Bally’s bid to turn part of a former Trump Organization golf course into a casino in the Bronx has been stymied, at least for the moment.

The City Council failed to allow a vote to move legislation that would allow for the golf course to become a casino, and the move — which was spearheaded by speaker and New York City mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams — has drawn the ire of Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, according to a New York Post exclusive. 

Why? Because Kim believes there’s been a “whisper campaign” by lobbyists working for the other would-be New York casinos in an effort to keep Bally’s out. And that whisper campaign centers around the current president of the United States of America.

“They’re saying, ‘If Bally’s wins, Trump benefits.’ That’s crazy,” Kim told the Post.

Bally’s bought the course at Ferry Point from the Trump Organization in 2023, and renamed the course Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point. According to the deal’s fine print, the Trump Organization stands to get an additional $115 million from Bally’s, provided it wins one of the three downstate casino licenses.

So while the organization would get the $115 million, Kim told the Post that all of the Bronx would benefit, as their proposal includes over $600 million in community benefits, tons of jobs, and millions of dollars in economic activity and taxes.

Bally’s plan includes a 500,000 square-foot casino, a 500-room hotel, a 2,000-seat event center, and two parking garages.

No vote

The vote that didn’t happen was supposed to occur Wednesday, and would’ve allowed the state legislature to consider a bill to repurpose the property for use as a casino. If the City Council doesn’t vote on that, the state can’t consider it, and if the state can’t consider it, the bid is dead.

Kim said the council was “moving the goalposts” by not voting.

“If we don’t get a vote in the City Council, we can’t advance our bid.”

But anonymous sources told the Post the reason the council didn’t vote was because Bally’s has done a terrible job wooing the council and doesn’t have the votes to move the matter forward.

Time is ticking on this, as the bids to apply for a casino license are due June 27. The council will be meeting once more before then, on June 11. Compounding matters is the state’s legislative session, which ends in mid-June.

The city council had previously given the same approval to the bid led by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen to build a casino near Citi Field, and the state legislature recently gave it the go-ahead.

Meanwhile, a representative for the city council said Bally’s proposal is still being considered.

“We’re still working on home rule messages for state legislation. The process hasn’t been completed for this legislative session,” said council spokesman Mandela Jones.

If it gets to the state level, the plan is for state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez of the Bronx to push for the waiver. And while she isn’t thrilled with the president potentially getting anything out of the deal, she recognized such is the price of doing business.

“So while I hate it, I don’t want him to get anything on it, it was part of the business deal just to get his name out of the situation, get him out of the golf course and out of the Bronx,” Fernandez told the Post.