MGM not present for first New York CAC hearing

At the first community advisory committee hearing for the MGM Empire City casino proposal Thursday, James Cavanaugh was elected chair. Then committee members were briefed on the process and expectations for their appointments. That’s about the extent of what happened.

Representatives from MGM were not present to give a detailed presentation of the bid, which was not required. However, all four of the other CAC meetings held thus far have included bidder presentations, including fellow racino Resorts World NYC. Overall, there have been eight bids submitted for three available downstate New York casino licences to be awarded this year.

Senior-level officials representing several proposals have made in-person appearances thus far, including Mohegan CEO Ray Pineault, Rush Street CEO Tim Drekhoff and even rapper Jay-Z.

MGM did not respond to a request from iGB for clarification as to why a presentation was not given.

Thinnest of margins

An increasingly tight timeline is part of the reason why bidders have opted to give presentations as early as possible. Each CAC is required to host three types of meetings: an initial organisational meeting, at least two public hearings, and a final meeting to hold a vote and submit it to the state. All of this must be done by 30 September, the deadline for voting.

In order for a proposal to move on to the next stage of consideration by the state, it must receive a two-thirds majority approval from its respective local CAC. The committees are not supposed to vote based on their personal opinions, but rather on the amount of public support shown for a given project. That’s what the public hearings are for, to solicit local feedback.

There are few rules governing how the process must be scheduled, as much depends on committee members’ availability. Theoretically, MGM could give its presentation on the same day that a hearing is held. But that presentation, coupled with questions from committee members and comments from the public, would likely drag on for several hours.

The MGM Empire City CAC expressed some concern with issues of timeliness on Thursday, and it will seek to hear the presentation on its own at a later date, members said.

Another difficulty for MGM is that it has the smallest margin for approval. All the other remaining bids are located within New York City, meaning their CACs feature six members. MGM Empire City is in Yonkers, and therefore has a five-member committee. The two-thirds threshold still applies, though, meaning the bid needs four out of five votes instead of four out of six.

Racinos considered frontrunners

Now that the CAC phase is firmly underway, the range of bids are taking shape. Every type of development is featured in the field, including: renovations of existing facilities, ground-up construction projects, retrofits of other use buildings and sprawling mixed-use complexes.

State officials will be considering how to best allot the three available licences to maximise economic impact and minimise local displeasure. The racinos are located a considerable distance from Manhattan, a consideration that will assuage congestion concerns. The existing facilities also require less construction than the other proposed facilities. Both factors largely explain why the two racinos have been the heaviest favourites in the race.

MGM, which acquired the site in 2019, has proposed a $2.3 billion transformation of the former Yonkers Raceway. This includes a new entrance and a porte cochere, a “fully revamped” casino floor, five new dining options, a new entertainment venue and more. The company proposes a limited launch in June 2027 if selected. That represents the second-fastest time to market among the timelines proposed by the bidders, behind only Resorts World (July 2026).