MGM Resorts abruptly exiting the downstate New York casino process this week was perhaps the most unexpected turn of the years-long saga thus far.
The company’s $2.3 billion plan to renovate and expand its Empire City racino in Yonkers was long considered to be a favourite for one of three available licences. But the perceived economic return from the project, MGM said, declined over the course of the process to the extent that it warranted withdrawal.
Now, only three applicants remain in contention, all of whom submitted revised bids to the state this week:
Bally’s projected construction cost is $4 billion, followed by $5.5 billion for Resorts World and $8 billion for Metropolitan Park. Resorts World, like MGM, is an existing racino and proposes an initial casino launch in July 2026. The other two are greenfield projects that would take multiple years to build and longer to reach profitability.
There is no timeline in Bally’s submission and Metropolitan Park only notes that construction would begin in January.
The state’s Gaming Facility Location Board (GFLB) is tasked with reviewing the remaining bids under various financial, environmental and workforce criteria. Its deadline to submit licensure recommendations to the state is 1 December. State regulators may then choose to award up to three licences by year’s end.
MGM bid underwhelming from the start?
With a June 2027 opening date, MGM’s bid was the second-fastest in terms of speed to market but featured few other standout details when compared to the field. The proposal did not include a resort hotel, public park spaces, housing commitments or similar benefits featured in other projects.
At its widest point, there were 11 downstate proposals and MGM sat lowest of all in terms of confirmed capital investment. A casino atop the Sak’s Fifth Avenue retail store in Manhattan might have been lower in terms of cost, but those stakeholders never announced concrete details and didn’t submit an official bid.
The pool was whittled to eight after a first-round deadline in late June. Of those eight, MGM was the only bidder that did not make a presentation to its appointed community advisory committee (CAC) during its initial meeting.
Despite this, the project had solid backing and was squarely in contention at the time of withdrawal. The CAC approved the bid unanimously, and both MGM and local officials adopted the messaging that the property needed a commercial licence for survival.
MGM said so in its own application materials and sent dozens of employees to testify in support to the CAC. James Cavanaugh, the chair of the committee, said that the “aging slot parlour” would “wither and die” without a full licence. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano lobbied for the project for years. But instead of revising its application and proposing a custom tax rate, MGM pulled out altogether.
The company said the “newly defined competitive landscape – with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area” was cause for concern investment-wise. Its bid was also “predicated on the receipt of a 30-year commercial casino license” rather than 15 years, which is what it qualified for based on capital expenditures.
Northfield Park sale announced days after New York exit
Two days after the New York announcement, MGM made more racino news by selling the operations of MGM Northfield Park in Ohio for $546 million to private equity firm Clairvest Group. MGM originally acquired the racino’s operations for approximately $275 million in 2019, the same year it purchased Empire City.
CEO Bill Hornbuckle in a statement said that Northfield Park is “a great property with great opportunity ahead”. Yet he also asserted that his company is “focused on growing our digital business, developing our international expansion opportunities, and continuing to invest in our leading integrated resorts domestically”.
This seems to be further indication that MGM also could sell Empire City in the near future, but its statement announcing the New York casino exit denied such intentions.
“We know our decision will impact many individuals; we remain committed to operating the property in its current format and believe it will continue to enjoy success serving customers in Yonkers and the surrounding communities,” the company said.
Multiple industry sources indicated to iGB on condition of anonymity that MGM still has time to make a decision. It would be a few years before the downstate licencees really start to compete, sources said, and the property still performs well in the meantime.
Empire City generated $607.4 million in net win, or hold, in fiscal year 2025 (April-March). The property is slightly ahead of that pace in FY26, generating $311.7 million in the first six months of this fiscal year.
Withdrawals highlight ongoing issues in NYC casino process
MGM was the third major casino operator to voluntarily withdraw from consideration in 2025, joining Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands. The withdrawals all cited different reasons for their exits, and each of those reasons would still ostensibly impact any bids that reach fruition.
Sands was the first to exit the race in April. Its primary concern was “the impact of the
potential legalization of iGaming on the overall market opportunity and project returns”. New York legislators have rejected multiple attempts to legalise iGaming but could gain traction in future years, especially after the downstate licensing process is complete. The state faces a $34 billion cumulative budget gap over the next three fiscal years and could turn to iGaming to help drive tax revenue.
Wynn was next to drop out in May, citing bad politics related to the rezoning process. It ultimately saw downstate New York to be “an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition despite our willingness to employ 5,000 New Yorkers”.
Not alone in political controversy
Both Bally’s and Metropolitan Park have also seen political controversy.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams assisted Bally’s bid twice in city council, vetoing one vote and lowering the threshold for another. Metropolitan Park owner Steve Cohen sidestepped local Senator Jessica Ramos in favour of Senator John Liu after Ramos refused to endorse its zoning legislation.
MGM’s competition concerns would also still apply to the remaining applicants. All three are within 30 miles of each other.
In a statement following the Tuesday bid deadline, Bally’s told iGB it was “ready and willing to bet on the Bronx”. Resorts World in a release said its proposal was “a promise kept to the people of New York”. Metropolitan Park’s casino partner, Hard Rock International, declined to comment on its bid.
Casino bidders prepare balance sheets, lenders weigh risks
The remaining applicants face uncertainty related to building costs and timelines. From a macroeconomic perspective, rising tariffs, sticky inflation and slow job growth could significantly affect new construction. Bidders must also have the ability to fund or finance such projects, which is no small task for three companies with multiple projects ongoing.
Bally’s, above all, has faced skepticism over its leveraged business model, though the company said its recent reverse-merger with Intralot provided it with “more than $1 billion of cash and available credit facilities ready to commit to the project”. In addition to New York, Bally’s is building large-scale projects in Chicago and Las Vegas.
Its lenders for the Chicago project are pushing back on Bally’s attempts to modify certain aspects of its $1.9 billion loan term, which could be a sign that its constant debt maneuvering is running out of room. To this point, the company facilitated much of its growth through financing from Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI). Bally’s revised New York casino application said it had a “$2.5
billion investment commitment” from GLPI.
GLPI senior vice president of corporate strategy Carlo Santarelli clarified to iGB that “there are rarely formal negotiations between the parties nor is anything agreed upon” when including such statements in applications. The company will await the final licensing outcome before making any commitments, he said.
Santarelli added that GLPI “would be willing to work with other bidders and was in fact working with other bidders, whose projects did not advance to this stage of the process”.
Costs, timelines likely to rise amid economic turmoil
Resorts World parent company Genting Berhad has also been aggressive in rejiggering its balance sheet this year. It sold its Resorts World Catskills property to Sullivan County in a complex transaction and is in the midst of a $6.8 billion expansion of its flagship Resorts World Sentosa resort in Singapore. The broader Genting is pushing to buy out its Genting Malaysia subsidiary for $1.6 billion, in efforts to better facilitate these growth plans.
Metropolitan Park is perhaps the safest economically despite the high price, as owner Steve Cohen is the 100th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $23 billion.
Duane Bouligny, managing director for Wells Fargo Securities, said that current downstate New York casino projections are “aggressive”. But every lending opportunity is itself a gamble, he said, and banks must have faith in operators’ ability to execute.
“What we’ve found is that the properties actually get there, it just takes longer to get to those cash flow numbers in their projections,” Bouligny said. “So it’s not year one, might not be year two, it might be year four, year five … it takes time to get there. So we have to have faith from a balance sheet perspective that they’re going to get there at some point.”
His belief is that costs will “go up, not down” based on the current economic landscape.
Battle of New York casino tax rates, licence fees
Another major component for the remaining applicants will be tax rates. The state allowed bidders to pitch their own, with a minimum of 25% for slot revenue and 10% for other gaming.
According to materials posted to the GFLB website, the three bidders proposed the following rates:
- Bally’s Bronx: 30% for slots, 10% for tables
- Metropolitan Park: 25% for slots, 10% for tables
- Resorts World NYC: 56% for slots, 30% for tables
The downstate licence fee was set at a minimum of $500 million but bidders were free to offer more. Metropolitan Park offered $500 million, Resorts World offered $600 million and Bally’s did not indicate a fee preference. As MGM noted, bidders learned in August — after official submissions were due — that licence lengths also would depend on capital investments.
The structure is:
- Total investments under $1.5 billion get a 10-year initial licence
- Investments between $1.5 billion and $5 billion get a 15-year initial licence
- Investments between $5 billion and $10 billion get a 20-year initial licence
- Investments above $10 billion get a 30-year initial licence
Based on cost projections for the finalists, Bally’s would qualify for a 15-year licence, whereas Metropolitan Park and Resorts World would qualify for 20-year terms. Only two downstate proposals — Wynn’s Hudson Yards bid and Soloviev Group’s Freedom Plaza — would have eclipsed the $10 billion threshold to unlock a 30-year licence, but neither is a finalist.
New York gaming regulators now in spotlight
The five-member GFLB now becomes the centre of the New York gaming universe. None of the five appointees are familiar with or have experience in gaming, though that was by design to ensure neutrality. Board Chair Vicki Been took it a step further, telling Bloomberg this summer that casinos are “nowhere I want to spend my time”.
Four of the five members were appointed to the board this year. The most recent was Cindy Estrada, who was appointed 30 September, the same day as the CAC deadline. Only Been has served for more than one year, having been appointed in 2022.
There have been two GFLB meetings this month, first on 8 October and again on 15 October. The 8 October meeting ran for just 15 minutes and was largely organisational. There is no available archived audio or video from the 15 October meeting, which was scheduled for three hours.
The next meeting is set for 22 October at 2 pm EDT.
Three bidders remain for three New York casino licences, but the twists and turns to get to this point have only caused uncertainty to grow.