Empire City Casino has been cleared to vie in a shrunken field of competitors for a state license that would spur a $1.7 billion expansion of the Yonkers operation.
A five-member committee that presided over two public hearings and held veto power over Empire City’s plans voted unanimously to advance the application at its final meeting, held at 10 a.m on Thursday, Sept. 25 at Yonkers Public Library. The next step is a state board that will weigh as many as five remaining bids for full casino licenses and award up to three licenses on Dec. 1.
In remarks before casting their votes, the committee members — each appointed by various local elected officials — said the project would bring a flood of new jobs and tax revenue, and had won overwhelming support at the hearings and in emailed comments. They acknowledged concerns about flooding and public safety some neighbors raised, but noted that Empire City had pledged funding to address those issues.
Jim Cavanaugh, the committee chairman, went further by arguing his panel was effectively deciding the fate of the casino itself, since denying Empire City a full gambling license would likely doom it to “wither and die” after its competitors open new resorts in neighboring New York City.
“With three casinos within a half-hour drive, all offering table games, sports betting, entertainment, and all that goes with a full casino, who is going to continue going to an aging slot parlor that has none of these things?” he asked. “The answer is very few.”
Thursday’s vote followed a string of rejections by similar panels overseeing three bids for new resorts in Manhattan, each of which — unlike the quest in Yonkers to upgrade an existing casino — had aroused strong local opposition.
Still to come with an approaching Sept. 30 deadline were votes by the community advisory committees for four other contenders for casino licenses in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn. One was set to come later on Thursday for the proposal from Resorts World New York City, located at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
Like Empire City Casino, Resorts World is a “racino” — a slot-machine parlor next to a horse track — that’s seeking to become a full-scale casino with manned table games, rather than strictly electronic slots and table games. The other six applicants in the original field of eight were all proposing brand-new gambling spots in New York City.
If it wins a license, Empire City’s operator, MGM Resorts International, plans a major expansion that includes a new concert venue and that it says would spur 2,000 new casino jobs. The new license would also mean a leap in revenue for Yonkers and Westchester County, along with neighboring Rockland and Putnam counties.
Empire City opened at Yonkers Raceway in 2006 and has bolstered the struggling harness-racing track, which has been around since 1899. The track would continue operating during and after the proposed casino expansion.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers casino gets OK from panel to vie for full gambling license and $1.7B expansion
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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