Yonkers casino developers pull bid, increasing odds for Queens plans

Following MGM’s withdrawal from the downstate casino bidding contest, the remaining three projects from Bally’s, Metropolitan Park and Resorts World could make Queens the center of a new gambling market. With the exception of MGM in Yonkers, this map shows the closeness of the remaining bidders. Map via Metropolitan Park 

By Ryan Schwach

And then there were three.

The chances of Queens one day being home to two casinos – and another right at its border – grew exponentially this week after MGM withdrew its bid to expand their racino into a casino in Yonkers.

The developers behind the Yonkers plan yanked their proposal just as the remaining casino bidders were turning in their supplemental applications, sweetening their respective bids to the state Gaming Commission.

With MGM out of the picture, only three casino bidders are left to compete for the three available downstate casino licenses. All of the remaining proposals are planned for areas in or just outside of the World’s Borough.

Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park at Willets Point, Resorts World New York’s casino expansion in South Queens and Bally’s bid for a casino in the Bronx at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge are the last three bids standing from the original eight that submitted proposals earlier this year.

In a release sent out on Tuesday, MGM said that they no longer thought their plan was financially viable.

“Since submitting our application in June, the competitive and economic assumptions underpinning our application have shifted, altering our return expectations on the proposed $2.3 billion investment,” the statement said. "The newly defined competitive landscape – with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area – challenges the returns we initially anticipated from this project.”

MGM said that because of a change in the state guidelines, they did not expect to qualify for a 30-year casino license, which their bid was based on, and would only qualify for a 15-year license.

“Taken together, these events result in a proposition that no longer aligns with our commitment to capital stewardship,” the statement said.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano expressed their disappointment with MGM’s withdrawal, as did Governor Kathy Hochul.

Jenkins went as far to allege, without evidence, that President Donald Trump put his thumb on the scale since the Trump Organization would stand to make millions if the Bally’s Bronx casino is approved.

“There appears to be more to this story — potentially influence or pressure from the Trump Administration, or even the President himself, that forced MGM’s hand to default to Bally’s — a move that could result in a profit of roughly $115 million for Trump,” said Jenkins.

MGM’s less than optimistic view of their own financial returns came as all bidders were putting together their supplemental plans, which include more promises and reports on potential tax revenues to sweeten their deal in the eyes of the Gaming Commission.

Three casino proposals remain for three available downstate licenses: Resorts World in South Queens, Metropolitan Park in Willets Point and Bally’s in the Bronx on the other side of the Whitestone Bridge.  Rendering via Resorts World

Resorts World upped the ante by pledging an additional $100 million to the state for a licensing fee, and projecting $18 billion in total tax payments in the first decade of operation.

Metropolitan Park boasted 42,100 total jobs, and an estimated $33.5 billion in total tax revenue over 30 years.

Both Resorts World and Metropolitan Park declined to comment on MGM’s withdrawal.

Queens could get two

While it’s not guaranteed, the odds that the World’s Borough could get two casinos, and another on its doorstep, significantly increased following MGM’s withdrawal.

While nothing is stopping the state from not awarding all three licenses, or even awarding none – something members of the state gaming commission have said publicly – insiders find it unlikely the commission goes that route.

“It’s simple math — three applicants left, three licenses,” said Queens State Senator Joseph Addabbo, the chair of the senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, who represented Resorts World before redistricting several years ago. “It's common sense to issue all three at this point.”

If the state didn’t approve all three, Addabbo argued they’d be leaving chips on the table.

“By leaving any on the shelf, that leaves thousands upon thousands of construction and post-construction union jobs, good jobs…it leaves hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, both to the city, the state, and even the MTA,” he said. “Why would you do that?”

If the Gaming Commission ultimately did as Addabbo suggests and awarded the licenses to the remaining three projects, Queens could become the center of a new gambling and casino market unlike anything in the region short of Atlantic City.

“It's a windfall for Queens, and it changes the whole makeup of the borough,” said Addabbo. “Queens becomes a bigger economic engine for the city.”

Should all three be awarded licenses, the planned casinos would be close to an hour's drive from each other, and all within about 23 miles.

Bally’s and Metropolitan Park would only be separated by a 15-minute drive up the Whitestone Expressway.

In their statement announcing their withdrawal, MGM named the potential closeness of the projects and market cannibalization as a top concern, but Addabbo, a strong supporter of casinos, doesn’t have the same worry.

“The idea here is they will have a following, like the ones in Atlantic City with proximity to each other,” he said. “They'll offer different amenities. They'll offer different plans and programs and rewards and all that stuff. They’ll all find their own niche, so to speak. I think they can coexist.”

The lack of concern is shared by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who repeated his catchphrase when asked about MGM exiting the field.

“Queens get the money,” he said.

“Borough President Richards has been clear throughout these planning and public engagement processes that both the Resorts World and Metropolitan Park proposals are game-changers for Queens,” his spokesperson Chris Barca added. “Each project will generate immense economic benefits for Queens in the form of thousands of new jobs and contracting opportunities for small businesses and street vendors, all while securing our borough’s place as the cultural and entertainment capital of New York City. Both projects are community-centered, rightfully deserve state licensing and have always been the two most sensible proposals on the table.”

Richards strongly supported both Queens casino bids, voting for both of them as a member of their community advisory committees, and isn’t worried about cannibalization.

“It [won’t] happen,” Richards said to reporters following Metropolitan Park’s committee vote in September. "It's two different worlds, Resorts World is so far east…I don’t see it cannibalizing."

There do remain some concerns regarding problem gambling, and gambling addiction, as access to gaming has only increased in recent years with the growing popularity of mobile gaming and the legalization of sports betting.

According to the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, New Yorkers in inpatient or outpatient treatment with gambling addiction increased 46.3 percent from 2020 to 2023. Calls to the state’s addiction hotline increased 22 percent from 2021 to 2022, the largest single-year increase on record.

Sweetening the pot

As MGM folded, Resorts World and Metropolitan Park upped their ante and went all in.

This week, both projects turned in their supplemental plans to the state made up of additional ideas and promises to make their proposals more appealing to the state commission.

In Resorts World’s supplemental plan, the Malaysian-based gaming conglomerate suggests that a full casino at Resorts World would generate the most revenue of any of the remaining plans, ranging from $3.3 to $4.6 billion by 2031.

Three casino proposals remain for three available downstate licenses: Resorts World in South Queens, Metropolitan Park in Willets Point and Bally’s in the Bronx on the other side of the Whitestone Bridge. Renderings via Metropolitan Park

The plan argues that Resorts World will pull in the most revenue regardless of which bids are ultimately chosen, but the executive summary released by the company doesn’t list what is now potentially the most likely possible outcome – one where Resorts World, Metropolitan Park and Bally’s get the licenses.

To appeal more to the Gaming Commission, Resorts World is offering to pay $600 million for the license fee – $100 million more than the minimum – and a tax rate of 56 percent for slots and 30 percent for table games, netting a predicted $1.7 billion in casino taxes by 2031.

In their competing bid, Metropolitan Park is proposing a tax rate of 25 percent on slots and 10 percent on table games and other games.

Cohen’s bid claims that the casino will generate $3.9 billion in revenue by year three of operation.

Many of the specifics of both supplemental plans were redacted.

The State Gaming Commission is expected to award licenses by the end of the year.