The #SpectrumGamingGroup of Horsham, Pennsylvania was selected by the New York State Gaming Commission to undertake a statewide market study.
The contract for the study still required final approval by the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and #Yonkers‘ Assembly Gaming Committee Chairman, J Gary Pretlow, pushing hard for it.
The study will look at several key questions on New York State gaming. For instance, is there a market for additional casinos in #NewYork State and what impact new venues may have on existing casinos upstate.
The consultant will focus strongly on metropolitan #NewYorkCity area, where MGM Resorts at Yonkers Raceway is itching to spend another billion bucks.
But the study will supposedly consider the impact of sports betting and online wagering, legal gambling in neighboring states, and the impact of #TribalCasinos on New York State commercial casinos.
In 2013, Governor Andrew Cuomo approved a constitutional amendment to allow four full-gaming commercial casinos in upstate New York.
MGM Resorts International also wants expanded gaming at its Empire City Casino in #YonkersNY.
In January, #MGMResorts closed on a deal to acquire #EmpireCity for $850 million from the #RooneyFamily.
#MGM has attempted to get #NewYorkState officials to allow downstate casinos licenses before 2023, when a current moratorium is set to end.
MGM wants the Yonkers property to become a traditional casino sometime next year or in 2021 and has the support of Yonkers Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Yonkers State Senator Shelley Mayer and Yonkers Assemblymen Nader Sayegh and J Gary Pretlow.
In March, MGM and another venue, Resorts World Casino New York City, located in #Queens and operated by Genting, both offered $500 million in licensing fees for expanded gaming.
They also could pay upstate casinos, which are struggling financially.
Empire City is home to 5,200 slot machines and electronic games.
Empire City’s electronic offerings include blackjack, three-card poker and roulette.
But the establishment does not yet feature live table versions of those games.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano says MGM wants to build one of its world class entertainment convention center venues on the 97 acre property.
But everyone wants in on this #NYC Area Casino Gold Rush, as the money losing Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting (#OTB) is once again attempting to open a contentious gaming venue in #Medford.
#SuffolkOTB recently filed initial documents to undertake an environmental impact study on placing a 160,000-square-foot video lottery gaming venue at the site of the former #Brookhaven Movie Theater.
Three years ago, residents voiced strong opposition to the plan.
The pressure was a key reason the proposal failed, but now there is a chance at full casino gambling at the site.
The location of the proposed casino is on eastern Long Island, some 61 miles from #Manhattan.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is scheduled to hold a hearing on the casino proposal on Dec. 9 in #Holtsville,