When MGM Resorts International abruptly abandoned its $2.3 billion plans to transform its Empire City Casino in Yonkers into a full-fledged casino with Las Vegas-style slot machines, live-dealer table games, and sports betting, it stunned the US gaming industry on Tuesday night. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano (D) felt that MGM's justification for its withdrawal was insufficient.

For one of the three downstate New York casino licenses that were up for grabs, MGM was thought to be the front-runner. At the moment, Empire City is a video lottery racino that can only provide electronic table games and VLT slot machines.

In 2019, MGM paid $850 million to acquire Empire City. Many believed that MGM was using the acquisition to obtain one of the once-coveted downstate casino concessions.

MGM has now given up on its NYC effort, despite having previously claimed that Empire City cannot exist without a complete gaming license. Spano seeks clarification.

“This decision by MGM defies all logic, and it’s nothing short of a betrayal to the people of Yonkers and Westchester County,” Spano said. “I am calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to launch an independent investigation into this process, because the reasons MGM gives for its 180-degree reversal just don’t add up.”

MGM's Justifications

After the bidding was reduced to four, MGM claimed that its pursuit of Empire City was no longer appealing. The "clustered" remaining bids, two for Queens and one for the Bronx, were mentioned by the Bellagio operator.

All three of the non-MGM proposals are nearer Manhattan than Yonkers. It seems like a good explanation: if a bunch of partygoers decide they want to gamble after dining and drinking in Manhattan late into the night, they are much more likely to take a quick taxi to Queens than travel the more than thirty minutes to Empire City.

In addition, MGM mentioned unfavorable tax terms and its anticipation of obtaining a 15-year gaming license rather than a more favorable 30-year concession.

According to Spano, there is more to the story, and it involves President Donald Trump.

Trump's Hand Gets Better 

There are now just three bids for the downstate area, all of which are located in New York City, following MGM's departure. These include Bally's Bronx's $4 billion project at Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, Hard Rock and Steve Cohen's $8 billion greenfield development at Willets Point in Queens next to the billionaire's Citi Field Ballpark, and Resorts World's $5.5 billion renovation of its VLT racino at the Queens Aqueduct Racetrack.

In 2023, the Trump Organization reportedly sold Bally's Corp. the lease for the city-owned Bronx golf facility for $60 million. Similar to MGM's acquisition of Empire City, the sale was seen as Bally's official entry into the New York casino market.

A clause in the 2023 terms stipulates that Bally's must pay the Trump Organization an extra $115 million if it obtains the right to construct a casino resort on the parkland at any time in the future. The Trump Organization is owned by President Donald Trump and run by his sons while he is serving in Washington, DC.

"It’s no secret that the big winner from this reversal will be Bally’s for a casino at the former Trump Links. It’s also no secret that Bally’s has a deal with Donald Trump that they will pay him an additional $115 million if they can open a casino there,” Spano said.

“People need to be assured that there is no linkage between MGM’s decision and the massive financial benefit to Donald Trump,” Spano continued. “The people of Yonkers deserve to know if this process was tainted or manipulated in any way.”

By vetoing a City Council resolution to reject a land-use application to permit a commercial company development on the city-owned property, NYC Mayor Eric Adams single-handedly saved the Bally's Bronx venture. Adams has been charged with taking advantage of his lame duck days in order to increase his chances of getting hired by the Trump administration in 2026.

Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East and Peace Missions, is one of the advisors on Bally's team with the strongest connections to Trump. When Witkoff sold the incomplete casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip to Koch Real Estate Investments in 2021, it became branded as Fontainebleau.