MGM Yonkers withdraws downstate casino bid, leaving 3 applications standing

MGM Yonkers abruptly withdrew its bid for a New York casino license Tuesday, eliminating one of the favorites in the competition and possibly clearing the way for a bidder who would pay the Trump Organization a huge windfall.

The surprising development sparked Yonkers Mayor Michael Spano to call for a state investigation.

MGM Yonkers’ decision leaves just three entities bidding for the three casino licenses the state can hand out as soon as December. Notably, the state Gaming Commission isn’t mandated to award all three available licenses but merely to award qualified bidders.

Still, the Yonkers development would appear to clear the field for two bidders in Queens — including one backed by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen — and one in the Bronx. If the Bronx partnership, led by Bally’s Gaming, wins a casino license, it will result in a $115 million windfall for the Trump Organization.

MGM Yonkers, which has been operating a video-slot-machine "racino" at Yonkers Raceway since 2019, received community backing two weeks ago to move forward with its application for a full casino. That was significant because community opposition killed four other casino bids in Brooklyn and Manhattan last month.

Analysts had considered the Yonkers application a leading contender in part because of strong community support. But the company, in a statement, said the "competitive and economic assumptions underpinning our application have shifted."

"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.

Also, the scale of the MGM casino proposal, which was smaller economically and physically than those in Queens, meant it would receive a 15-year license instead of a more coveted 30-year license, altering its financial projections.

Spano called it a shocking "180-degree reversal" and a "betrayal."

He noted Bally’s has agreed to pay the Trump Organization $115 million if it wins a casino license as part of a deal the entities reached in 2023. The site is a former Trump Links city-owned golf course near the Whitestone Bridge; Bally’s paid Trump $60 million to take over development rights.

"It's no secret that the big winner from this reversal will be Bally's proposal for a casino at the former Trump Links in Whitestone," Spano said. "People need to be assured that there is no linkage between MGM's decision and the massive financial benefit to Donald Trump."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy