$2.3B MGM Empire Casino Faces Critical Vote on Sept. 25

YONKERS—The Community Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 25 to determine the fate of the $2.3-billion MGM Empire Casino proposal in Yonkers. An affirmative vote allows the project to advance for consideration with the New York State Gaming Commission Facility Location Board. A negative vote kills the proposal and for at least some observers, could spell the eventual closure of the Empire City Casino complex in the coming years.

James Cavanaugh, the chairman of the five-member CAC, reported at the project’s second public hearing last night (Sept. 16) that the CAC will meet on Thursday, Sept. 25 at the Yonkers Riverfront Library at 10 a.m. where it will likely vote on whether to approve or disapprove the MGM Empire City plan.

MGM Empire City was one of seven applicants vying for as many as three downstate full casino gaming licenses to be awarded before Dec 31 by the New York State Gaming Commission. All seven projects were in various stages of the Community Advisory Committee process. However, after this morning’s two CAC votes, there are now just five players left vying for up to three coveted downstate casino licenses.

The CACs for SL Green Realty’s $5-billion Caesars Palace Times Square at 1515 Broadway and The Avenir at 11th Avenue and 41st Street in Manhattan both respectively held their final votes earlier today. The Caesars Palace Times Square CAC rejected the project’s application for community approval by a 4-2 vote, thus ending its bid for a casino license by the Gaming Commission. The Avenir, which was led by Silverstein Properties, Rush Street Gaming, and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, met the same fate as its CAC voted 4-2 today to reject the estimated $7-billion plan, thus killing that project as well and brining the contestants for the three gaming licenses down to five— MGM Empire City (Yonkers), Resorts World New York City (Queens), Bally’s Bronx, The Coney (Brooklyn), Metropolitan Park (Queens) and the last remaining Manhattan proposal Freedom Plaza at 686 1st Avenue.

*An aerial rendering of the Caesars Times Square project in Manhattan.*

The Community Advisory Committee for the Bally’s in the Bronx has held two public hearings, but on Sept. 15 submitted a nine-page proposal and amendments including the establishment of a Community Benefit Fund Board. At present, a final vote on the Bally’s Bronx Casino and Resort has not been scheduled, according to the Gaming Commission website.

The CACs for The Coney casino proposal in Brooklyn, the Freedom Plaza in Manhattan, Resorts World New York City and Metropolitan Park in Queens have all held two public hearings but have not scheduled a meeting for a final vote. The CACs have until Sept. 30 to vote on the respective proposals.

The two existing racinos (featuring Video Lottery Terminals) downstate are Empire City Casino in Yonkers and Resorts World New York City in Queens.

Earlier this month, Taryn Duffy, president and CEO of Tarsam Public Affairs and former Vice President of Public Affairs, MGM Resorts Northeast Group, gave a virtual presentation on the merits of the MGM Yonkers project to HGAR members.

Duffy urged HGAR to support the proposal that would generate approximately 6,500 construction workers and add more than 2,000 new permanent jobs to the facility once operational.

The Sept. 16 CAC meeting held at the Yonkers Montessori Academy featured a vast majority of supporters of the project that included Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, as well as some Yonkers residents, members of the building trades and employees of the existing Empire City MGM Casino. Those who testified against the project were mostly Yonkers residents who live near the project who complained about increases in traffic and persistent flooding issues surrounding the property and in the adjoining neighborhood.

*The $7-billion The Avenir was rejected by its Community Advisory Committee earlier today by a 4-2 vote.*

Yonkers Mayor Spano spoke of the economic fallout that would come if the CAC voted against the MGM Empire Casino plan. The mayor in his testimony chronicled the economic benefits the project would bring to Yonkers and the region and speculated that if Empire City was not granted a full gaming license, the facility could not compete with other downstate casinos and would likely close sometime in the future.

John Cooney, Jr., executive director of the Tarrytown-based Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc. echoed the mayor’s position on the negative impacts a rejection of Empire City’s plan would have on the local economy in an op-ed published in the Journal News on Sept. 16.

“Awarding full casino licenses to three other downstate entities would seal Empire City’s fate. Without its own license, the property would be forced to compete against full-scale casinos in its market while facing additional pressure from an anticipated mega-casino at the Meadowlands, just 20 miles away. There is no viable future for Empire City under those conditions,” Mr. Cooney predicted.

He continued, “The result would be the eventual closure of MGM Empire City that would eliminate 700 permanent jobs; the loss of $88 million in annual wages; local vendors, within a 20-mile radius, would lose $30 million in annual revenue; and, New York’s public schools would lose $300 million in funding annually. This isn’t just a lost opportunity, it’s an economic catastrophe waiting to happen,” Cooney warned.