Community advisory committees recently rejected a couple of New York City casino bids. However, two committees just greenlit different plans last week.
Advisory committees in Yonkers and Queens gave the go-ahead to grant full casino licenses to local racinos. Yonkers’ community advisory committee approved MGM’s Empire City Casino. A Queens’ committee gave the green light for Resorts World New York City.
As a result, New York gaming regulators can consider their applications for a full casino license.
“We are grateful to the Community Advisory Committee and our local community for demonstrating their continued support for Empire City Casino,” MGM Resorts officials said in a statement. “For more than 100 years, Yonkers Raceway and Empire City have been intertwined with the City of Yonkers. We look forward to continuing to drive well-paying jobs for local residents and providing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual education revenue to the State of New York.”
Key Approvals
The state is expected to decide the fate of several casino bids in January. These approvals are not a shock to anyone in the gambling industry. Since Empire City and Resorts World are the two downstate racinos, industry experts expect regulators to give them two of the three licenses up for grabs.
The third license will go to a new property.
Currently, Empire City only offers slot games. However, if regulators award MGM a license, the company will add 183 live dealer games. Furthermore, company officials expect the expanded gaming options will generate an additional $50 million in annual tax revenue.
In Queens, Resorts World already offers slot machines and electronic table games. But they plan to greatly increase the size and scope of the racino. Genting, the Malaysian ownership group, plans to add live dealer games and expand to 500,000 square feet.
Genting also owns an upstate casino. But it sold the nongaming assets to Sullivan County to free up cash for their downstate plans.
The updated Queens property is expected to have the largest gaming floor in the country. The company said the new property would add as many as 5,000 jobs and an additional 5,000 construction jobs.
“On behalf of the entire Resorts World team, I want to thank the community advisory committee for recognizing the impact we will have not only on Queens, but all of New York City and State,” said Genting Americas East president Robert DeSalvio said.
“We are incredibly grateful to the large number of residents, partners, and supporters who touted this project, without a single person speaking against it. This is a testament to our mission – solidified over the last 15 years – to be the best neighbor possible here in Queens.”
The approvals came after committees voted down two planned Manhattan casinos. A plan for a casino in Coney Island also looks to be in trouble. Brooklyn committee members already expressed opposition to the plan.
Once the downstate licenses are awarded, the New York legislature could turn its attention to online casino legalization.
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