A New York Community Advisory Committee (CAC) overwhelmingly supported MGM Resorts’ Empire City application to obtain one of the city’s three lucrative and coveted full-casino licenses.
Key Takeaways
- CAC votes 5-0 to approve MGM’s Empire City full-gaming license bid.
- The MGM project now heads to the Gaming Facility Location Board for additional consideration.
- This is the first project to be passed by a CAC in New York.
Needing four votes to pass, all five members of the CAC voted in favor of expanding MGM Resorts’ already-established Yonkers horse racing and electronic gaming facility on Thursday, citing community benefits and the ability to keep the racino from closing.
“A casino license is a good deal for New York State, for Westchester County, and especially for Yonkers,” advisory board chair James Cavanaugh said during Thursday’s meeting. “For that reason, I join the rest of my fellow committee members and vote yes.”
With CAC project approval, MGM Empire City will seek additional consideration from and submit a tax rate to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board. Approval is expected by Dec. 1, with full-fledged casino licenses being awarded by the end of the year.
MGM Empire City is the first casino-license bid to gain CAC approval. Three projects in Manhattan failed to pass this month, leaving the NYC borough without a new gaming facility. Four other bids across the city are still being considered. A final CAC vote on Resorts World’s Queens project, an expected favorite to land a license, will be taken later on Thursday.
Yonkers expansion hopes
Another favorite long expected to receive one of the New York City casino licenses, MGM Empire City plans to renovate and expand the current Yonkers location to add live-dealer table games, a high-limit lounge, and a BetMGM retail sportsbook by the middle of 2029.
The complex would also include three new full-service restaurants, the renovation of current food and beverage venues, and “high-concept” dining options, a parking garage, and a 5,000-seat entertainment venue to attract a “variety of A-list and local performances.”
Yonkers has been home to a horse-racing track since 1899. Automated table games like blackjack and baccarat, as well as slot machines, have been operating there since 2015. MGM purchased the gaming facility in 2019 and submitted a bid for a full-casino license in June.
“This casino license is essential for the city of Yonkers,” Cavanaugh said. “We recognize that not every effect will be positive. There will be more traffic and demands on public infrastructure and emergency services. That’s why MGM will be required to spend an estimated $100 million in mitigation.”
Community benefits
The current gaming facility located at 810 Yonkers Avenue already provides the city with $30 million in tax revenue per year, and a full casino and entertainment complex is expected to add another $20 million or more to that total, as well as thousands of new jobs. MGM said 10% of the gaming revenue will go to Yonkers.
Cavanaugh said voting against MGM Empire City’s expansion would’ve been a “major blow” to the horse racing industry and cost jobs and income if another gaming facility drew so much revenue away that the Yonkers facility couldn’t stay open.
“We don’t need a study to tell us that a casino license is the only way to keep this economic engine alive,” said Cavanaugh, who was appointed by Mayor Mike Spano. “It’s just plain logic. Closing would be devastating. Not only would Yonkers lose an estimated $30 million a year in taxes, but the breadwinners of nearly 700 local families would be out of work.”
The committee recognized that not everyone was happy with the project’s plan, and that flooding, traffic, and parking issues would ensue. However, Maria Fernandez, who was placed on the board by Gov. Kathy Hochul, said there was “amazing support” in the community, and that’s why she voted yes.
“We are a community advisory board. We have to respond not to what we think so much, but what we hear from the community,” CAC member Joe Apicella said. “It’s for that reason and for that rationale that I feel very strongly that we should move forward with this. This facility has been begging for casino gaming for years. If any place can make it work, Yonkers can make it work.”
