Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
MGM’s Empire City Casino Withdraws New York Downstate Bid
In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events, MGM Resorts decided to pull its Empire City Casino out of the casino license race only inches from the finish line.
Citing adversarial changes in the national economic outlook, as well as regulatory guidance that saw its license term decrease from 30 years to 15 years, the company stated it was throwing in the proverbial towel, with less than two months until New York’s three downstate casino licenses are awarded.
Empire City Casino was considered a frontrunner to be awarded one of the three available casino licenses due to its current status as a revenue-producing slot parlor that also houses electronic table games.
The estimated $2.3 billion price tag to renovate the property, which sits adjacent to harness horse track Yonkers Raceway, into a full casino replete with live table games, would have become a destination resort, which would have increased tourist traffic.
It is the only project of the original dozen that received the support of the Community Advisory Council (CAC), yet they still pulled the plug on it. Naturally, the withdrawal incensed many of the project’s political supporters, including Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, who called the decision a “betrayal.”
Spano remarked, “The people of Yonkers deserve to know if this process was tainted or manipulated in any way. MGM has publicly acknowledged that Empire City cannot survive without a full gaming license, so why are they signing their own death warrant?”
NBA Legend Calls NCAA Rule Change Crazy
The NCAA is considering a proposal that would allow student athletes to bet on professional, albeit not college, sports. The changing culture and social norms regarding sports betting propagated the decision, but the measure has yet to be ratified, requiring approval at the Division 2 and Division 3 levels.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is a vocal opponent of the rule change, stating, “Anyone who believes that’s a good idea deserves a thorough examination.”
However, Barkley was just getting started and added, “But I saw something last week that let me know we need to do something about the NCAA, where they announced they’re going to let college players bet on pro sports. If that’s not the stupidest sh*t. You talk about putting your kids in the kitchen and turning the stove on. Like, when I heard that, I said: ‘This has got to be a joke.’”
