New York Casino Licenses Enter Local Review Stage

The race for downstate New York casino licenses is now entering a political minefield, with eight proposals advancing to the next round — but none guaranteed a spot. The application window has closed, and now the power lies with newly formed Community Advisory Committees (CACs), who will be the first to officially weigh in on each bid.

Good to know

• Eight casino bids are now under CAC review with votes due by September 30.
• Each CAC vote must hit a two-thirds majority to move forward.
• MGM Empire City and Resorts World NYC are considered frontrunners due to existing racino status.

Now that the applications are in, the real drama is starting now.

State officials have handed off the eight casino proposals to community panels—each made up of six members, except for MGM Empire City’s five-member CAC. These individuals, selected by state and local leaders (and in some cases, self-appointed), will determine whether a bid has enough public support to move ahead. Their job? Review the details, hold public meetings, and vote by the end of September.

If the vote swings in favor by a two-thirds majority, that bid remains in the running. If not, it is out.

Manhattan gets crowded

Three of the bids are located in Manhattan, more than any other borough. While Wynn Resorts pulled its Hudson Yards proposal earlier in the year, Caesars Times Square, Avenir by Silverstein, and Freedom Plaza from the Soloviev Group are still on the table.

The Manhattan committees include a mix of veteran politicians, urban planners, and community board members. Familiar names appear across different CACs—Matthew Tighe and Richard Gottfried, for instance, are involved in more than one panel. Whether that works for or against certain bids is anyone’s guess.

Yonkers and Queens are favorites

MGM Empire City and Resorts World NYC have always been the expected favorites. Both already operate racinos and can convert to full-scale casinos with minimal effort. With that infrastructure in place, they are often labeled as the “easy picks.”

Their CACs feature a blend of Port Authority officials, borough presidents, and community board chairs. Time to market is a clear advantage here, and unless something drastic happens, they remain strong contenders.

Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens bring fresh challenges

The rest of the boroughs each have one bid:

• Metropolitan Park in Queens (Steve Cohen and Hard Rock)
• Bally’s New York in the Bronx
• The Coney in Brooklyn (Thor Equities and partners)

Metropolitan Park is already dealing with a political gap. Senator Jessica Ramos, who was supposed to appoint one of the six CAC members, declined to support the project and left her seat unfilled. A workaround by Senator John Liu kept the bid alive, but the optics remain tricky.

Bally’s faced last-minute land-use hurdles, which were only cleared thanks to Mayor Eric Adams. His intervention lowered the council voting threshold, allowing the rezoning to pass with a simple majority.

The Coney team has a full committee and plenty of local representation, but faces the challenge of proving it can compete with better-established names.

Let the backroom politics begin

While the CACs may seem like neutral bodies, politics will play a huge role over the next few months. Lobbying efforts are ramping up, and votes may come down to a single person. Some projects will have the momentum, others the public backing, but the clock is ticking for everyone.

And while each proposal will hold meetings and take public input, there is no rule for how many meetings must be held. Only one requirement exists: elect a chair at the first gathering.

The rest is wide open.

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