MGM Yonkers withdraws from New York licensing race

New York’s race for new commercial casino licenses has taken a turn after MGM Yonkers, a subsidiary of MGM Resorts, withdrew its application.
The exit narrows the field to three major contenders. Steve Cohen is also considering a casino development beside Citi Field, Bally’s has set its sights on the former Trump golf course in The Bronx, and Resorts World is putting forward a proposal centered on the Queens Aqueduct racetrack.
MGM shared in a statement:
“The newly defined competitive landscape–with four proposals clustered in a small geographic area–challenges the returns we initially anticipated from this project.”
Moreover, the company made it clear that its intentions to develop and expand Empire City Casino were centered on acquiring a thirty-year commercial casino license. But after receiving new instructions from New York State, it has come to the conclusion that it will only be eligible for a fifteen-year license.
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