MGM Exits New York Casino Race — Three Contenders Remain

MGM Resorts is out. The company dropped its $2.3 billion plan to turn Empire City in Yonkers into a full casino, saying the project just didn’t add up anymore. Costs kept rising, and the competition got tougher. And the license term on the table shrank to fifteen years instead of the thirty they modeled for. At that point, the math didn’t pencil.

In spite of the current issues in the New York casino scene, elsewhere it’s business as usual. In Vegas, the lights never go dim. Across the ocean, European live casinos continue streaming from dedicated studios, and some decentralized casinos highlight blockchain-based systems for faster verification.

Within this mix of readily available casino games, Aviator sites have grown in popularity by offering faster rounds and simpler access. Welcome offers, flexible logins, and multiple payment methods including various cryptocurrencies are among the features they highlight.

While online gaming options continue to expand, the brick-and-mortar casino plans in New York have slowed following recent developments.

With MGM gone, three bids are still standing. Steve Cohen, in tandem with Hard Rock, is pushing a casino and entertainment complex by Citi Field in Queens. Resorts World wants to upgrade its Aqueduct operation into a full-scale property. Bally’s is still working the Bronx. Fewer players now, bigger spotlight on each move, and a race that suddenly feels closer to the wire.

In Yonkers, the response came fast. City officials who’d spent years planning around a large build-out called the reversal a hit to local momentum and asked Albany to spell out how decisions have been made behind closed doors. Mayor Mike Spano called the withdrawal “a blow to our community” and pressed for a review of the process. After months of meetings and prep work, the change landed like whiplash.

MGM isn’t leaving the property. Empire City stays open with slots and electronic games, same footprint and staff. The company says it remains committed to Yonkers even as the larger resort plan comes off the board. That’s some stability, but it’s not the construction surge many had expected.

The broader picture shifts with it. One heavyweight steps aside, three remain in the hunt, and decisions are expected later this year from state regulators. Neighborhood groups will keep weighing in. So will unions, developers, and anyone with skin in the game. For now, the downstate race tightens, the stakes rise, and Yonkers waits to see what fills the space MGM just left.

For Yonkers, the wait feels longer than anyone expected. Years of planning, permits, and promises now sit in folders gathering dust. Shops near the track that once planned to hire more staff are holding off. Some city officials still talk about another bidder stepping in, but no one’s counting on it. Empire City keeps running the machines, same faces, same hours. The jobs are still there, the lights still on, but the push that once filled the air has gone quiet. What happens next isn’t up to Yonkers anymore.

This content was produced in partnership with General Studios. If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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