Summary:
- MGM abruptly withdrew its $2.3 billion plan to expand Empire City Casino in Yonkers.
- The company cited new state rules and increased competition for the withdrawal.
- Bally’s, Resorts World, and Metropolitan Park are still in the race
A surprising twist has shaken up New York’s casino race. MGM, once seen as a frontrunner to bag a coveted downstate casino license, has suddenly pulled out its $2.3 billion plan to expand Empire City Casino in Yonkers. The move caught local officials completely off guard.
“It was a gut shot”, said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, who said he learned about MGM’s decision just as the application deadline arrived. “It was so much riding on this, and for MGM to basically pull out before we could even get together and try and, you know, fix the problem.”
In a statement, MGM called it “a difficult decision”, citing new challenges in the state’s casino licensing process.
The company said the “newly defined competitive landscape, with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area”, had made it hard to justify the returns it initially expected.
MGM also pointed to a recent change in state guidelines that would likely limit them to a 15-year license instead of the 30-year term they had anticipated.
For Yonkers, the news hit hard. Residents and local leaders had been counting on the project to create jobs and boost the local economy. “I’m really sorry to hear that”, said longtime resident Angelo Deluise. “Because in reality, it would have meant more jobs coming to the neighborhood.”
Controversial Bid
MGM’s exit leaves three major contenders vying for the state’s three available casino licenses: Metropolitan Park Casino and Resorts World New York City, both in Queens, and Bally’s Casino in the Bronx.
Bally’s bid, however, it not without controversy. As per court filings in the civil front case against former President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization transferred the Ferry Point license to Bally’s in 2023, an agreement ‘that reportedly includes a clause that promise the organization an additional $115 million if Bally’s gets its hands on a gaming license.
“The President stands to make about $115 million if Bally’s gets its slices, and that is something that concerns me” Mayor Spano said. “That’s why I’m asking the governor to do an investigation.”
The New York State Gaming Commission, which has the authority to issue up to three downstate casino licenses by the end of the year, has not said whether MGM’s withdrawal will affect the overall process.
With MGM out, the race for New York’s next big casino project just got a lot more unpredictable.
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