MGM Resorts to Buy New York Casino for About $605 Million 

Empire City Casino in Yonkers has electronic games, harness racing, restaurant

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• IN RE: SUFFOLK REGIONAL OFF-TRACK BETTING CORPORATION

IN RE: SUFFOLK REGIONAL OFF-TRACK BETTING CORPORATION

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Court of Appeals of New York.

IN RE: SUFFOLK REGIONAL OFF-TRACK BETTING CORPORATION, Appellant-Respondent, v. NEW YORK STATE RACING AND WAGERING BOARD et al., Respondents-Appellants. (And Four Other Related Proceedings.).

    Decided: December 17, 2008

Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Albany (Victor Paladino, Barbara D. Underwood and Andrea Oser of counsel), for New York State Racing and Wagering Board, respondent-appellant. Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, LLP, White Plains (Frederick J. Martin, Susan E. Galvo and Robert D. Meade of counsel), for Yonkers Racing Corporation, respondent-appellant. Nolan & Heller, LLP, Albany (Richard L. Burstein of counsel), for Saratoga Harness Racing, Inc., respondent-appellant. Marvin Newberg, Monticello, for Monticello Raceway Management, Inc., respondent-appellant. Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman, LLP, Garden City (Thomas J. Garry and Keith M. Corbett of counsel), for Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation, appellant-respondent. Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York City (Susan Choi-Hausman, Pamela Seider Dolgow, Ira H. Block and June R. Buch of counsel), for New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, appellant-respondent. Powers & Santola, LLP, Albany (Michael J. Hutter of counsel), Neil H. Tiger, Hauppauge, and Stern & Rindner, Goshen (Mark D. Stern of counsel), for Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation and others, appellants-respondents.

 OPINION OF THE COURT

At the core of this litigation-with the Off-Track Betting Corporations (OTBs) on one side, and the State Racing and Wagering Board and state harness racing tracks on the other side-are questions of statutory interpretation.   We begin with a brief history of the relevant sections of the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law and the present controversy.

Prior to 1970, New York permitted wagering on horse racing only at its thoroughbred and harness tracks, leaving (as  Supreme Court observed) “a lucrative and illegal niche for local b

Big bet in Yonkers: MGM Resorts International is buying the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., just outside of New York City  PHOTO: MARK ABRAMSON FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By

Austen Hufford

Updated May 29, 2018 4:05 p.m. ET

1 COMMENTS

MGM Resorts MGM 1.88% International is buying a harness-racing track and casino outside New York City for about $605 million, helping the gambling-venue owner’s latest push to expand its presence on the East Coast.

MGM will acquire the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., from the Rooney family, which has owned the operation at Yonkers Raceway for more than four decades. The Wall Street Journal reported in November that the casino was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or partnership. MGM will also assume about $245 million of debt in the deal.

Empire City is about 15 miles from Times Square. The 97-acre site offers slots and electronic table games, dining and entertainment and live and simulcast horse racing.

It was founded in 1899 as the Empire City Trotting Club. In 1972, the Rooney family bought Empire City for $52 million. Tim Rooney, whose family owns the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers, is the chief executive of Empire City. 

MGM has also agreed to pay an additional $50 million if the casino is awarded a license for live table games, including poker and blackjack, before 2023. 

The deal comes as casino operators have been on the hunt for deals in recent months and follows a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that lifted limits on the U.S. sports-betting market.

The high court invalidated federal prohibitions from 1992 that had essentially restricted the legal gambling market to Nevada. Gambling operators, sports leagues and state governments are now vying for their share of the potential revenue from an expansion of sports betting, as state lawmakers discuss tax rates and possibly fees to be charged by sports leagues, such as the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

The deal is MGM’s latest move to grab a piece of the New York City metro area’s gambling market. The company largely operates casinos in Las Vegas, but also has operations in Atlantic City, N.J., Detroit and Macau. 

Last fall, MGM said that it wanted to open a $675 million casino on the waterfront in Bridgeport, Conn., which is reachable by commuter rail from New York City. State legislators have proposed an open competition to build a new casino in Connecticut, a move that could strain its relationship with Native American tribes that manage the other casinos in the state. 

In the year ended March 31, Empire City reported about $230 million in revenue and about $70 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

MGM Resorts said it plans to sell Empire City to the company’s real-estate investment trust MGM Growth Properties LLC. MGM Resorts will then lease the property back from MGM Growth Properties and operate it. The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.

MGM largely operates casinos in Las Vegas, but also has operations in Atlantic City, N.J., Detroit and Macau.