With Casino Plans at Hudson Yards Dropped,
Yonkers Mayor Tells State to Fasttrack MGM
NEW YORK—Hours after a competing venture rescinded its bid to develop a casino in Manhattan, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano in Westchester urged state officials to award full casino licenses for Yonkers at MGM Empire City Casino and the Aqueduct racino in Queens.
“Yonkers is Shovel Ready Now” Spano’s office claimed in a news statement on May 20, on the heels of the announcement by The Related Companies and Wynn Resorts that they are dropping their bid to build a casino on the Western Rail Yards at Hudson Yards.
“We have two racinos whose owners are ready to pay New York State a billion dollars in application fees today, and to start generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes tomorrow,” Mayor Spano said. He added that the local building trades and other supporters are ready to go to work to build the $2-billion proposal, MGM Empire City Casino, now that two major competitors have thrown in the towel.
Earlier this spring, Las Vegas Sands announced in its first quarter earnings report that it was abandoning its proposed casino project at the Nassau Coliseum property in West Hempstead, NY.
Mayor Spano said that Yonkers “has two racinos whose owners are ready to pay New York State a billion dollars in application fees today, and to start generating hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes tomorrow.” He urged swift action by the state to issue the two casino licenses, pointing to the likely pressure on the state and municipalities by “cutbacks from Washington and shortfalls in New York State and local budgets by the end of the year.”
Wynn Resorts said it became clear through the rezoning process that there are better uses for its capital, according to CNBC. Wynn Resorts has surrendered to the inevitability of “years of persistent opposition,” according to a company-issued news release. In April, the New York City Council approved a rezoning plan for the $12-billion Hudson Yards casino project despite intense local opposition.
Related Companies on May 19 also stated that the Wynn Resorts casino would not be the anchor for its Far West Side site. Instead, the firm announced it would build thousands of units of new housing on the site adjacent to the Hudson River. The New York Times reports that the new plan will feature up to 4,000 new residences. Most of the housing units would be apartments, and at least 400 of them would be rented below market rate. It would include a 6.6-acre park.
Some of the remaining bidders for the gaming licenses include SL Green Realty Corporation and Caesars Entertainment, which want to build a casino in Times Square; New York Mets Owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International, who are looking to build a casino near Citi Field in Flushing, Queens; Bally’s, which wants to put a casino in the Bronx; and World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, who is working with Rush Street Gaming and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment to build a casino in Manhattan.
Analysts say that the front runners for two of the possible three gaming licenses are Resorts World—which hopes to build a multi-billion-dollar gaming complex at its existing Resorts World New York City facility at Aqueduct in Jamaica, Queens—and the Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts, which could secure the key zoning approval by the Yonkers City Council later this month.
Published: May 21, 2025