New York Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has shown her support to convert the MGM Empire City slots parlor at Yonkers raceway into a full-fledged commercial casino. The news could also be favorable for Genting’s Resorts World at Aqueduct race track in Queens, which also intends to apply for a full casino license to offer live card table games.
“Of course I’m going to support my hometown casino, which by the way, has done the work,” Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said during a Tuesday press briefing, according to the New York Post. She further stated she supports Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to speed up the bidding process for up to three new casinos in New York City or surrounding suburbs.
Gov. Hochul first made public her intentions to expedite the timetable for the casino licenses in January, when the state budget for the year was announced. A plan is in place to allow the state Gaming Commission to issue the licenses this year, and applicants have started issuing letters of intent. This would add to the casinos already operating upstate.
MGM Empire City in Yonkers
The state currently has 11 upstate casinos, seven of them run by Native American tribes, while the other four opened following a constitutional amendment in 2013. A prohibition was placed on additional three downstate casinos until 2023: Hochul’s plan would speed up the timeline by doing away with penalties downstate operators would have to pay to the upstate casino owners if they moved forward before the ban expires.
Both MGM Empire City and Resorts World at Aqueduct plan to apply for the full casino licenses, which would allow them to expand their offerings to live card table games. MGM’s venue, which opened in 2006, currently offers more than 5,300 slot machines; while Resorts World at Aqueduct, which debuted in 2011, offers about 6,000 electronic slots and table games.
The two facilities are uniquely positioned for the casino license, given an ability to easily expand and community support gathered throughout their operational years. A full gaming resort would provide “an attractive way to keep entertainment and tourism dollars here in New York,” Empire City’s site claims, “resulting in additional tax revenue and more quality union jobs.”
Resorts World Casino in New York City
“If granted a full casino license, we are uniquely positioned to immediately elevate our support for the state in a number of significant ways,” Resorts World claims. Officials claim gaming in downstate New York is “full of untapped potential” and that Hochul’s initiative is an important step toward “showcasing the state’s enormous promise.”
The Genting-owned business further claims that, over the last 10 years, it has gathered “unwavering support” from a diverse set of community leaders. Similarly to MGM, the company says the opportunity to elevate its gaming offerings would result in more good-paying union jobs, additional funding to state plans, and support for community businesses.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ gesture of public support joins similar efforts from other lawmakers, which also backed existing venues to expand their offerings. According to Resorts World’s submission to the state’s gaming commission, the company counts with support from Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Sens. Joe Addabbo Jr. and Leroy Comrie, and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, reports the New York Post.
