MGM Empire City, Resorts World Advance For New York Casino Licenses

MGM Empire City became the first applicant to advance for consideration for a downstate New York casino license Thursday after its Community Advisory Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to forward its $2.3 billion expansion proposal to the state’s Gaming Facility Location Board.

Fellow racino Resorts World followed suit Thursday when that CAC unanimously advanced its $5.5 billion proposed expansion at Aqueduct Racetrack into an integrated casino resort by a 6-0 vote.

The two approvals follow the rejections of all three Manhattan-based proposals — Freedom Plaza, The Avenir, and Caesars Palace Times Square — by 4-2 votes from their respective CACs. The Coney is likely headed to a similar fate as four members of its CAC have already publicly signaled their intentions to vote down Thor Equities’ $3.4 billion proposed casino prior to a scheduled Monday vote.

MGM Empire City and Resorts World are the two incumbents among the original eight applicants vying for as many as three $500 million licenses that could be awarded by the New York State Gaming Commission. Both racinos have been long-standing favorites to be awarded full casino licenses as they have been offering gaming via video lottery terminals (VLTs) for more than a decade at their respective racetracks.

Empire City originally opened at Yonkers Raceway in 2006, and MGM agreed to purchase the venue in May 2018 for approximately $850 million. Resorts World opened at Aqueduct in 2011 and expanded its scope in 2021 with a 400-room hotel. It also plans to have some of its expanded gaming amenities as part of this proposal ready within six months of being awarded a license.

Building Empire

In addition to incumbency, MGM Empire City enjoys solid backing from Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. The gaming venue was largely well-received by the local community during its two state-mandated public hearings overseen by the CAC.

MGM Empire City began releasing details of the expansion as far back as November 2023. It projects 8,500 new jobs over the course of building the venue, broken out into 6,500 construction jobs and 2,000 additional gaming positions as its casino workforce will grow from 700 to 2,700.

Similar to other CAC final committee hearings, MGM Empire City did submit amendments for consideration. Unlike the other committees, however, these were voted through as part of the application sent forward. The amendments also tracked in language similar to the Community Benefit Agreement the casino signed with the City of Yonkers that was approved by the city council.

Among the add-ons:

• $10 million to purchase and renovate a new library/community center
• $2 million to fund small business facade improvements on Yonkers Avenue
• $1.5 million initial payment and $500,000 annual payment to the Yonkers Economic Development Council
• $2 million for Yonkers Avenue streetscape improvements
• $1.25 million for parks improvements

The amendments also included a $100 million commitment by MGM Empire City dedicated to improving traffic flow and drainage around the casino area.

All five members of the CAC provided context for their “aye” votes, with themes of being great for small businesses in Yonkers as well as acknowledging concerns of traffic, noise, and drainage issues emerging from multiple committee members.

Chair James Cavanaugh noted the two hearings featured 110 speakers, with a “majority in support” of the proposal. He said the CAC received 221 additional email comments, with 178 in favor of the casino pursuing a full license.

Cavanaugh, who was appointed to the committee by Spano, again pointed out this pursuit will be a make-or-break venture for the city.

“If Yonkers does not get one of the three full casino licenses, Empire Casino will wither and die,” he said matter-of-factly, citing figures of potential lost tax revenue and jobs without the expanded venue. “With three new casinos within a half-hour drive, all offering table games, sports betting, entertainment, and all the goes of a full-blown casino, who is going to continue going to an aging slot parlor that has none of these things?

“A casino license is a good deal for New York state, for Westchester County, and especially for Yonkers. For that reason, I join the rest of my fellow committee members and vote yes.”

Resorts World continues on smooth path

Much like the two public hearings, the CAC for Resorts World was as effusive in its praise for the gaming company as the community. Stevens Martinez, appointed to the CAC by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, noted Resorts World had everything at the ready when facing queries from the committee.

“We asked the applicant some tough questions,” Martinez said. “Often times, we demanded answers within a short turnaround time. … But not once did the applicant ever push back on us. Not once did they hide information from us or try to give us the runaround. They answered our questions transparently, quickly, and with data.

“And I believe this is why the public and the community were on their side.”

New York state Sen. James Sanders placed his aye vote via videoconference in South Africa. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who was the fifth aye vote, could not resist a small celebration at the expense of the rejected Manhattan and likely soon-to-be rejected Brooklyn proposals.

“There’s an old saying that if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,” Richards said. “The community was at the table, and it couldn’t have been done without everybody here.

“There’s a theme in Queens, and I know (rapper) Nas is a part of this ‘Queens get the money.’ Sorry, Jay-Z, we win again. I just had to rub that in. And you can let the Brooklyn borough president know that I send my regards to him. With that being said, I vote aye.”

The final countdown continues

The New York State Gaming Commission announced that the CACs for Bally’s and The Coney will hold their votes Monday.

The Metropolitan Park CAC has announced its vote will be held next Tuesday, the deadline day for a CAC vote.

A failure to hold a vote is assumed as a rejection of the applicant.